Escaped inmate Danelo Cavalcante armed with rifle in South Coventry Township: police

SOUTH COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — Law enforcement is pursuing escaped inmate Danelo Cavalcante, who is armed with a rifle, in South Coventry Township, Chester County early Tuesday morning, Pennsylvania State Police said. 

State Police said Cavalcante is in the area of Ridge Road, Coventryville Road and Daisy Point Road. Residents in the area should lock all windows and doors, police said. Officers are patrolling the area with tactical gear and rifles. 

Owen J. Roberts School District, which is located in South Coventry Township, has not made a decision yet if its schools will open on Tuesday as day 13 of the manhunt begins.  

“We are and will remain in contact with law enforcement,” the district wrote in a Facebook post. “Future updates and decisions will definitely depend on whether the situation is resolved this morning or whether it remains an ongoing situation.”  

On Monday at around 11 p.m., police were actively searching for Cavalcante in the area of 1993 Fairview Road in East Nantmeal.

Police sent out reverse 9-1-1 calls to tell residents to shelter in place in the area of East Nantmeal on Monday night.  

Sources said a T-shirt and shoes had been found in the area police were searching that possibly belonged to Cavalcante. Numerous residents called dispatchers to report shots were fired in the area. 

A resident reported to police a gun was stolen during a confrontation where shots were fired at around 10:30 p.m. in the area of French Creek Elementary School near Route 100. 

Sources said the man who stole the gun fit the description of Cavalcante. It’s unclear if the suspect was hit after a homeowner fired shots at the suspect, sources said.  

The man believed to be Cavalcante got away with a .22 caliber rifle with a scope, sources said. 

Police are combing the grounds for footprints that may belong to the escaped Chester County prison inmate.

Sources said a police officer was injured by burns from the radiator cap of his car — not related to the search for Cavalcante.

Officers have set up a perimeter, hoping the manhunt ends Monday night. Route 100 is completely shut down as the search continues. 

RELATED: Reward increased for Chester County Prison escaped inmate to $25K

Investigators believe Cavalcante slipped through their search perimeter over the weekend. Then, police said he stole a dairy farm van with keys inside, which he abandoned in East Nantmeal after it ran out of gas.

Before Cavalcante was possibly spotted on Monday night, he was last seen on Saturday night on a Ring doorbell camera in the Phoenixville area. The photos from the camera showed Cavalcante with a clean-shaven face with a green hoodie and hat — a different look from the facial hair he had at the start of the escape. 

Police said he was trying to get in contact with two former co-workers. Authorities said one of his former associates even had a conversation with him in Portuguese over the Ring doorbell. 

Jeff Wynn lives a few miles down the road and has been following this online police scanner since he found out Cavalcante ditched the stolen van in the area.

“It’s thrilling,” Wynn said. “It’s amazing that he’s still around this long into it.”

RELATED: Retired FBI agent offers insight into search

Police are asking residents to report any sighting of Cavalcante to police. 

“If it’s still like this in a couple of days, I know people aren’t going to sit by, they might start going out on their own and try to find him,” Wynn said. 

Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said anyone who assists Cavalcante will be prosecuted.   

Bivens said Cavalcante’s sister is being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has been entered into a deportation proceeding. Bivens said she was an “overstay” and chose not to assist in her brother’s capture.

Police are urging the public to remain vigilant, check their surveillance cameras and report any sightings of Cavalcante.

Cavalcante was set to be transferred to a state correctional institution after being sentenced to life without parole for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, 38 times in the Phoenixville area in 2021 in front of her two young kids.   

Law enforcement is now offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the escaped killer.