Schools near Philadelphia, Northeast USAsuspended operations once again Tuesday, and Pennsylvania state officials asked residents to stay indoors as they search for 13th day one “dangerous” prison escapee who is now “armed”.

This is the latest episode of this manhunt, which puts the American authorities in a particularly difficult position.

Danilo Cavalcande, a 34-year-old Brazilian man, escaped on August 31 from the Chester County Jail in Pennsylvania, where he was serving a life sentence for the April 2021 murder of his ex-girlfriend. The jail is located about 40 minutes south of the area where they are concentrated now the investigations.

Cavalcande broke into a home Monday night in South Coventry, about 50 kilometers northwest of Philadelphia, where he grabbed “a rifle that was in a garage,” said George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police.

According to him, the owner of the house shot at the fugitive without injuring him while he was fleeing.

“Cavalcade is considered armed and extremely dangerous”, he underlined, while clarifying that the rifle is equipped “with a sight and a flashlight”.

As the search for the escapee intensifies, the residents of the area were once again urged to close the doors of their houses and cars and “stay inside”. Like last week, many schools were closed yesterday.

Law enforcement forces have set up barricades and are controlling vehicle movements. Armored vehicles and police rapid response teams have been deployed.

“Stressful”

“There are helicopters flying over our farm and there are large police forces. It’s really a manhunt, there are (police) walking around the estate, in the woods,” described Becky Patterson, manager of Lundale Farm, which is located in the area.

The farm spans more than 2,200 acres and “there are trees, streams, bridges, all kinds of nooks and crannies to poke around. So it’s really stressful,” he added, appreciating that “the police are doing an incredible job” in a difficult field.

Almost two weeks after the Brazilian escaped, police have deployed hundreds of officers to the area, as well as helicopters, drones and dogs. The Pennsylvania State Police, FBI and Sheriff’s Office are involved in the investigation.

Closed-circuit television cameras have repeatedly captured Cavalcande, but each time he has managed to elude police and the sheriff’s department.

Also wanted in Brazil

On Sunday, new photos of Cavalcande from the night before were released, in which he appears clean-shaven, apparently in an attempt to change his appearance as the first photos showed him with a black beard.

Cavalcante had also managed to steal a white van, which was found abandoned on Sunday, possibly because it had run out of gas.

According to police, he sought help from two acquaintances, who informed the authorities. His sister, who was living illegally in the US, has been arrested.

His mother, who lives in a rural area of ​​Brazil, told The New York Times that she was not surprised by her son’s ability to evade US authorities because he had already managed to do the same in his own country, where he is accused of murdering a man.

Irasema Cavalcade also stated in her interview that she would not want to see her son die in an American prison and estimated that it would be better “to die soon” than “to go somewhere where he will suffer and die.”