Philadelphia authorities Thursday identified a 22-year-old whom they called a “punk,” saying they believe he donned a scary “Chucky-style Halloween mask” and made threatening comments while he was chasing a woman near City Hall, officials said.
An arrest warrant was issued for Zymire Hughes, with authorities saying he may have fled Pennsylvania while having “ties to California and Nevada,” police said in a statement.
“There is nobody in the world who should be trying to imitate what this scared man, who’s running, is doing now,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told reporters.
“He’s a punk. I mean, that’s the bottom line. He’s a punk who scared a lot of people for no good reason, and we’re not going to tolerate it.”
The suspect, who has work connections in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, was spotted two nights ago leaving his apartment building with packed bags, police said.
The strange incident unfolded around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday last week, when a 40-year-old female jogger in athletic wear “was chased by a masked offender” near 1500 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Philadelphia police said.
The masked man is alleged to have held up a phone and repeatedly asked the fleeing woman, “Are you ready to die?” Capt. Jason Smith said.
“She’s startled,” Smith told reporters Thursday. “He repeats that phrase. She turns around, runs away from him, and in the process she severely injures one of her legs. And it’s going to require extensive medical treatment, from what I understand, in order to treat the injuries that she has sustained.”
The masked person, carrying a distinctive blue plaid backpack, was last seen ducking into the SEPTA metro train’s Suburban Station.
As he was in the station, transit police asked him to take the mask off, Smith said, showing video of police interactions with the person in the station.
“Underneath that Chucky-style Halloween mask, he’s got a black Covid-style mask underneath of that, which he never removes,” Smith said, referring to the killer doll from the “Child’s Play” horror movie franchise.
Smith said it’s clear that Hughes is “attempting to the best of his ability to conceal his identity.”
Philadelphia authorities said they believe Hughes has pulled this stunt before and are asking other potential victims to step forward.
“Zymire Hughes was trying to scare people, make them run. Who’s scared now?” Krasner said, taunting the suspect. “Who’s running now?”
Hughes could not immediately be reached for comment at a mobile phone and email address attached to him in public records.
