Escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante ‘armed and extremely dangerous’: police

The convicted murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison last month is considered “armed and extremely dangerous” after stealing a rifle with a scope and flashlight – and authorities warned that he may not hesitate to kill again.

Danelo Cavalcante made off with a “.22 caliber rifle with scope and flashlight attached” from a garage in East Nantmeal Township late Monday, where he also briefly encountered and was fired at by the homeowner, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Colonel George Bivens said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

“He is considered armed and extremely dangerous,” Bivens stressed, adding that confirmation that Cavalcante has a weapon does not change anything about law enforcement’s search.

“We have always considered him to be a risk,” Bivens explained.

The Owen J. Roberts School District closed Tuesday as around 500 officers scour the surrounding area for the convict, Biden continued.

Homeowners are also urged to secure all residences, outbuildings, and vehicles, though there are no shelter-in-place evacuation plans yet, he noted.

Although the homeowner fired “several” shots at Cavalcante last night, the veteran lawman said, there is “no reason to believe that he is injured” as a result of the scuffle.

“I think [Cavalcante] is just trying to survive and avoid being captured right now,” he explained.

“He knows where he is…he has been in that area before.

“We will actively hunt until we find him.”

Although tactical teams were deployed in the main search area throughout the night, Bivens asked for the public’s patience as they slowly comb through the heavily wooded area.

“It’s not a matter of just charging into the woods and just knowing it’s that way [he went],” Bivens said, referring to Cavalcante as “a needle in a haystack.”

“Our law enforcement people have done an amazing job tracking him and locating him,” he boasted.

When asked if the escapee posed a danger to law enforcement, Bivens replied that “he’s killed two people before.”

Cavalcante, 34, infamously crab-walked up the wall of Chester County Prison on Aug. 31, just one week after he was hit with a life sentence for fatally stabbing his former girlfriend.

The 5-foot-tall killer later showed up on chilling footage indicating that he changed his appearance by trimming his facial hair.

Late Monday night, hundreds of police and SWAT teams descended on East Nantmeal Township when a homeowner reported that someone matching Cavalcante’s description had broken into his home and barely got away through the garage, local outlets said.

Though the homeowner squeezed in at least seven shots, there was no blood found at the scene, the nearby ABC station reported.

Officials at the scene later said they also found a pair of boots that may belong to Cavalcante.