Pennsylvania “We view him as hopeless. He is dangerous, in our opinion, a state police colonel said to reporters on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania On Tuesday, the pursuit of the fugitive that had been going on for almost two weeks in the backyards and wooded areas of southeast Pennsylvania took an unsettling turn. Officials now claim that the individual they were hunting for was armed.
Danelo Cavalcante came across a homeowner in an open garage on Monday at 10 p.m. in a forested region about 30 miles north of the jail from which he had fled on August 31. The homeowner pulled out a gun and fired at Mr. Cavalcante as he ran with the weapon after he grabbed a.22-caliber rifle that was leaning in the garage corner.
The fact that Mr. Cavalcante, who was convicted of murder in Pennsylvania and is sought for questioning in connection with a homicide in Brazil, is now armed has increased the stakes in the peaceful suburbs west of Philadelphia where the manhunt has been going on.
“We view him as hopeless. At a news conference on Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens stated, “We consider him dangerous.
He continued, “He’s killed two people before.” I believe he is insufficiently desperate to employ that weapon.
East Nantmeal Township, a picturesque region of stone barns, dense woodlands, and cornfields, was already affected by the anxiety that had been permeating the villages in the county’s south, where Mr. Cavalcante had reportedly been hiding for more than a week. After discovering a van he had stolen the previous day from a dairy farm close to the jail, Pennsylvania authorities assumed Mr. Cavalcante was in the area on Sunday.
However, a whole day went by after the van was found with little awareness of Mr. Cavalcante’s whereabouts, at least among the general public. Then, over the course of several hours, he appeared numerous times.
Around 8 o’clock on Monday night, a motorist on a road close to the location where the stolen van had been dumped saw a man crouched close to the wood line, Pennsylvania according to Colonel Bivens.
Federal officials followed the track into the woods after spotting Mr. Cavalcante’s prison-issued shoes’ prints near the place of the sighting. During the course of the manhunt, Pennsylvania Mr. Cavalcante left behind a pair of work boots that he had stolen from a porch. After searching the area for two hours, Mr. Cavalcante came across the homeowner in the garage and fled with the weapon.
In a brief interview, Robert Clark, a supervisory deputy U.S. marshal, claimed that Mr. Cavalcante may possess up to 10 rounds of ammo.
Residents in the area received alerts advising them to stay indoors, lock their doors and windows, protect their vehicles, and check the recordings from their security cameras. Local schools were urged by officials to dismiss for the day. According to Colonel Bivens, “upwards of 500 law enforcement officers” gathered to establish a new perimeter as searches by federal, state, and local law enforcement agents grew more intense overnight.
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania acknowledged that this was “a moment of deep worry and anxiety” in the region but expressed optimism that Mr. Cavalcante would be apprehended soon during a visit to the temporary command post at a firehouse in Unionville.
But after hearing about the pistol, the situation had shifted.
On Monday night, 49-year-old Jason Mesiarik was standing at the barn door, monitoring social media for updates on the manhunt, in the pitch black, when he allegedly heard gunfire.
In this rural area of the county, gunshot cracks are regular, but he could tell that this wasn’t a hunting rifle from what he could hear. The sound seemed to be coming from across the street, he added. Mr. Mesiarik remarked, “It doesn’t get any closer.
Since then, helicopters, spotlights, and searchers outfitted in tactical gear have descended onto his farm, and one of them even knocked on his door at 2 a.m. to request permission to investigate the barn. Mr. Mesiarik, who had been in this area for ten years, was aware of how difficult the search would be as it grew more intense on his property.
It’s densely forested here, he added.
Down the road resident Michele Bauer claimed that the area’s fields and forests were littered with barns, sheds, and abandoned hunting stands. Because there are so many places to hide, she said, “it’s hard to find someone in that area.”