Skip to main content

"Extremely Dangerous" Escaped Murderer Steals Gun, Outwits US Manhunt

'Extremely Dangerous' Escaped Murderer Steals Gun, Outwits US Manhunt

Authorities have set up roadblocks in the wooded, rural area around Pennsylvania

Philadelphia:

Schools outside Philadelphia were closed and residents told to lock their doors Tuesday after an escaped Brazilian murderer dodged gunfire to steal a rifle from a home and was declared "extremely dangerous."

Danelo Cavalcante, who made a daring escape from Chester County Prison nearly two weeks ago, has become the subject of fear and fascination for Americans as he avoids police dogs, drones, helicopters and special armed units.

Authorities set up roadblocks in the wooded, rural area around Bucktown, Pennsylvania, where elite SWAT police and armored vehicles were also deployed.

Although police have failed to corner the convicted killer, the Brazilian national has popped up repeatedly on residential security footage and even nature cameras set up to monitor wildlife, turning his criminal exploits into a grim reality TV show.

Since climbing over his prison wall on August 31, the 34-year-old has been able to steal new clothing, food and a van which he later abandoned, and managed to get a shave.

On Monday night, he raised the stakes by breaking into a home garage near Bucktown and taking a .22 caliber rifle with a scope and flashlight attached to the weapon, Pennsylvania police spokesman George Bivens told a press conference.

The homeowner confronted the fugitive and opened fire with a pistol but appeared to have missed the fugitive, who got away.

Cavalcante's jailbreak came a week after he was sentenced to life for slaying his girlfriend by stabbing her dozens of times in front of her children in 2021. He is also wanted for murder in Brazil, US police say.

Cavalcante's mother, who lives in rural Brazil, told the New York Times in an interview that she wasn't surprised he was able to give the authorities the slip -- just as he did in Brazil after allegedly killing a man there.

"His training was his suffering," Iracema Cavalcante told the paper, recounting her son's poor, rural upbringing.

She also despaired about him facing life in prison in the United States, saying "it's better to die soon" than to "go to a place and suffer and die in that place."

Cavalcante, just five feet (1.52 meters) tall, is "considered armed and extremely dangerous," Bivens said.

In addition to flooding the search zone -- a wide area west of Philadelphia -- with messages warning residents, a decision was taken early Tuesday to close schools in the Oakland J. Robert school district.

"We're not evacuating homes at this point. We're asking residents to be vigilant and, again, lock their doors," Bivens said.

The police spokesman said there were around 500 officers, including heavily armed tactical units, combing the area, but that they are hampered by the wooded terrain.

Defending himself against criticism that the police have been inept in the manhunt, Bivens called Cavalcante the "proverbial needle in the haystack."

Helicopters buzzed over an area that included Lundale Farm, some 40 miles (64 kilometers) outside of Philadelphia. Its executive director, Becki Patterson, said police were "walking through our property, walking through the woods."

She said the area has "trees, creeks and bridges and all kinds of corners (where) you could sneak around."

"It's been very stressful."

Police have upped the reward for information on Cavalcante's whereabouts, from $20,000 to $25,000.

There have been several sightings of the convict so far, including some in which he was shirtless, while in others he is wearing a hoodie.

Police say Cavalcante had changed his appearance, shaving off the dark beard and mustache seen on his original "wanted" poster.

Police also said that the escapee had abandoned a stolen 2020 White Ford Transit van, reportedly taken from a dairy in West Chester. He'd apparently run out of fuel.

Prison officials last week released a video showing how Cavalcante was able to escape.

It shows the convict, then wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, crab-walking up two parallel walls and then climbing to the roof before making his way over two razor-wire fences.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Adblock test (Why?)



from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/7MFaUX8 https://ift.tt/tPsIn2m
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

North Korea Says It Tested New Strategic Cruise Missile

North Korea test-fired a new generation of strategic cruise missile on Wednesday. (Representational) Seoul: North Korea fired several cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state. Hours later, North Korea appeared to confirm the firing, saying it had carried out its first test of a new generation of strategic cruise missiles it is developing, the Pulhwasal-3-31. Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an "underwater nuclear weapon system" and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile. "Our military detected several cruise missiles launched by North Korea towards the Yellow Sea at around 7:00 am today," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang. Cruise...

18-Year-Old Killed By Friends Over Mobile Game Password In Bengal: Cops

According to cops, accused "friends" attempted to burn the victim after killing him. (Representational) Kolkata: An argument over sharing the password of an online mobile game allegedly led to the murder of a teenage boy by four of his friends in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, a senior police officer said. The body of 18-year-old Papai Das, who had been missing since January 8, was discovered near Nishindra Ghat of the feeder canal in Farakka on Monday, police said. Papai, a class 10 student, was reportedly killed by his four "close" friends after a disagreement over sharing the password for a mobile online game. The accused individuals have been arrested, police added. "These five individuals used to play online games at one of the quarters of the Farakka Barrage. The victim went out on the evening of January 8 and never returned. On January 9, the family lodged a police complaint. "Based on preliminary investigations, we discovered that...

"Jaiswal Has Run Ahead Of Gill": Ex-India Star's Massive T20 WC Verdict

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has suggested that Yashasvi Jaiswal is slightly ahead of Shubman Gill in the pecking order as captain Rohit Sharma's partner at the top in T20Is. Since making his debut last year, Jaiswal has been in stunning form in the shortest format of the game. Gill's form, on the other hand, has dipped since the ODI World Cup last year in India. With the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held later this year, Chopra feels Jaiswal will open the innings with Rohit during the tournament. "It's clear that Yashasvi Jaiswal has run ahead of Shubman Gill. Yashasvi is ahead in the two-horse race, Gill is lagging slightly behind. Gill was played in the first match, dropped in the second, and wasn't played in the third as well," Chopra said on his YouTube channel. Jaiswal helped India beat Afghanistan in the second T20I earlier this week, scoring a quickfire fifty. Considering his recent form across formats, Chopra emphasised that Jaiswal has ...