UPDATE: Danelo Cavalcante has been captured alive in Pennsylvania after he escaped from Chester County Prison and eluded authorities for nearly two weeks, state police announced Wednesday morning. Read more.
CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. – The convicted murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison last month reportedly broke into a private residence Monday night. The homeowner fired at the intruder seven times after the fugitive stole a rifle, according to reports.
Pennsylvania State Police urgently cautioned local residents that Danelo Cavalcante may now be armed after he ran off with a .22-caliber rifle he grabbed from the home, according to Fox 29 Philadelphia.
Cavalcante, 34, was recently convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in 2021. He escaped from the Chester County Prison August 31, and was spotted in East Nantmeal Township Monday evening, where the homeowner fired at someone matching his description, Action News reported. The perpetrator fled without leaving a blood trail.
Hundreds of law enforcement personnel — including tactical officers in armored vehicles — saturated the neighborhood after a helicopter caught a glimpse of the resourceful escapee in South Coventry Township.
Cavalcante is an undocumented immigrant from Brazil. He was convicted last month in the brutal stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, outside of her home in Schuylkill Township. He was subsequently given a life sentence prior to his escape.
Moreover, Cavalcante illegally entered the U.S. after a warrant was issued for his arrest for murder in his home country of Brazil in 2017, investigators confirmed.
The prison inmate escaped by doing the “crab walk” up a wall and running across the prison roof to freedom.
Still images from video footage show Cavalcante escaping from the prison yard in Pennsylvania. (Chester County)
Investigators who scoured the area of the confirmed sighting Monday night found shoes they believe may belong to Cavalcante, according to the local report.
On Sunday, police released new images of Cavalcante in which he apparently changed his appearance by shaving off his beard and switching clothes.
As an intense manhunt for the escaped killer continues, authorities released security camera pictures showing the man had changed his appearance. (Pennsylvania State Police)
Pennsylvania State Police ordered residents of South Coventry, West Vincent and East Nantmeal townships to shelter in place through a reverse 911 call. They warned that the convicted murderer was likely armed and asked locals to secure their doors and windows as well as their vehicles, and remain inside during the emergency alert, the New York Post reported.
On Tuesday morning, Owen J. Roberts School District shut down all seven schools and administrative offices for the day as a large police presence near routes 100 and 23 in North Coventry Township closed off several access roads, according to FOX 29.
Law enforcement authorities advised residents not to approach the fugitive and to call 911 if they spot him.
