WASHINGTON, Sept 12 — US police hunting escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante warned early today that he was armed as they searched for him in a township north-west of Philadelphia.

The 34-year-old Brazilian national scaled the wall of Chester County Prison in Pennsylvania on August 31 and for nearly two weeks has evaded a massive manhunt by hundreds of law enforcement officers with helicopters, drones and search dogs.

Cavalcante’s jailbreak came a week after he was sentenced to life for stabbing his girlfriend to death in front of her children in 2021.

According to police, he is also wanted for homicide in Brazil.

Pennsylvania State Police said early today they were pursuing the fugitive in South Coventry Township, Chester County, 30 miles (50 kilometres) northwest of Philadelphia.

"Cavalcante is armed with a weapon. Residents in the area are asked to continue to lock all external doors and windows, secure vehicles, and remain indoors,” the state police said in a Facebook post.

Police also upped the reward for information on Cavalcante’s whereabouts, from US$20,000 to US$25,000 (RM93,540 to RM116,925).

They asked residents to check their surveillance cameras and contact the police if they saw anything suspicious, while warning them not to approach Cavalcante.

South Coventry is nine miles north-west of the town of Phoenixville, where he was spotted at the weekend.

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

Authorities posted four pictures of Cavalcante, all apparently taken by a door-mounted camera as he stood or sat on a house porch.

Police said Sunday that the escapee was driving a 2020 White Ford Transit van, reportedly stolen from a dairy in West Chester. But he abandoned it, apparently because of a lack of fuel.

There have been several sightings of the convict so far, including some in which he was shirtless.

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. — AFP