Escaped Pennsylvania killer shot at by homeowner while stealing rifle from garage, police say

Escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante was shot at by a homeowner Monday night who found him in the garage stealing a rifle, authorities said.

The homeowner called police at 10:10 p.m. ET to say that a short Hispanic man wearing no shirt and dark pants had entered the garage while the homeowner was in it and grabbed a .22 rifle leaning in the corner, George Bivins with the Pennsylvania State Police said Tuesday morning at a news briefing.

The homeowner opened fire at the man, who was said by police to be Cavalcante, several times as he “fled with the rifle.”

Police responded to the home on Coventryville Road within minutes, but Cavalcante was gone. Bivins said he believed Cavalcante, 34, who has been on the run since Aug. 31, was unharmed.

A green sweatshirt and a white T-shirt believed to belong to the convict were found near the edge of the home's driveway, and the search perimeter was expanded to include that area.

The encounter with the homeowner was one of several “significant developments,” Bivins said, in the manhunt for Cavalcante.

Earlier that evening, at 8 p.m. Monday, a motorist reported seeing a male crouched in the wood line along the south side of Fairview Road west at Route 100. The driver turned her car around to verify seeing the man, but when she did he was gone.

A large number of troopers and a Border Patrol tactical team were already in the area and flocked to the scene.

There, they found footprints and some mud “which were identical to the prison shoes worn by Cavalcante," Bivins said. Shortly after, officials found his prison shoes.

Officials also received information from a resident in the area that a pair of work boots had been stolen from the home's porch, prior to the call about the shooting.

“Cavalcante is considered armed and extremely dangerous. He is now armed with a .22 caliber rifle with a scope and flashlight mounted on it," Bivins warned.

Searches went on overnight by multiple agencies including the Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI and U.S. Marshals, and aviation assets, K-9 teams and mounted patrols have been mobilized. More than 500 officers worked to secure that perimeter, officials said Tuesday.

The current perimeter, spanning eight to 10 square miles, stretches from PA 23 to the north, PA 100 to the east, Fairview to the south and County Park Road to the west.

“We ask residents in and around this facility to secure homes, outbuildings and vehicles,” Bivins said, noting reverse 911 messages were sent to residents in that area to lock down their homes.

Pennsylvania State Police said earlier that it was pursuing Cavalcante, in South Coventry Township, Chester County, northwest of Philadelphia.

Police urged the public not to approach him, to stay inside and to lock all windows and doors.

Cavalcante was spotted Sunday in nearby Phoenixville having changed his appearance.

Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole last month, having been convicted of fatally stabbing his former girlfriend.

Police have said he has tried to contact former colleagues in search of support.

"I believe at this point he is beyond assistance and we will actively hunt until we find him,” Bivins said Tuesday.

Cavalcante's escape from Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township on Aug. 31 was captured on surveillance video, which showed him stretching himself across an exercise yard wall before climbing onto the roof.

Police said Monday that the hunt for Cavalcante had entered the "long game" after searching an area where he had abandoned a stolen van.

He had initially been hiding in woodlands, police said, but moved into a more heavily populated area.

“While he was playing that tactical hide-and-seek in the woods, now I believe it’s advantage law enforcement because he’s in an urban setting,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark said Monday. “That’s what our investigators do best.”

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates soon.