Police identify suspect accused of terrorizing Philadelphia women while wearing creepy Chucky-style mask
The suspected masked menace who is accused of terrorizing women around the streets of Philadelphia last week is actively trying to avoid law enforcement, officials said Thursday.
Now, they're asking people to be on the lookout for him as he may have fled from Pennsylvania.
Zymire Hughes, 22, has an active warrant out for his arrest, police confirmed Thursday.
Authorities allege Hughes is the man who was wearing a creepy Chucky-style Halloween mask in the early morning hours of Aug. 12, as he assaulted a woman. He reportedly hunted her down and chased her.
During the encounters, which Hughes filmed with a cellphone, he approached several people while wearing the mask and appeared to antagonize them, police said.
"If Zymire Hughes was trying to scare people, make them run. Who's scared now? Who's running now?" Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
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"You think it's funny to scare people? Well, get ready to get scared by us because we got the handcuffs," Krasner added. "We got the jail cell. We got the Philly jury that's going to tell you it's not funny at all. You think it's funny to make people run, get your sneaks? Because that's what Zymire Hughes is doing right now."
Hughes allegedly yelled at a woman asking her if she was "ready to die" while chasing others, police told FOX 29.
He is currently on probation for an unspecified crime committed in Montgomery County, Krasner said. He will face felony and misdemeanor charges for the Aug. 12 incident, he said.
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Surveillance cameras allegedly show Hughes running up to people in the city. A Dunkin' Donuts refused him service because he was wearing the mask.
In one shot captured on video, a victim appears to crouch down with his hands up and apparently pleads for their life, Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith said.
"It's readily apparent that this individual is certainly in fear of their life," Smith said.
Hughes proceeded to walk along the street and harassed more than a dozen other pedestrians, police said. He then chased down a woman who was on her way to an early morning workout class.
However, Jameka Wilson, a 25-year-old Philadelphia-based actress, recalled the moment when she defended herself while speaking to Fox News Digital.
"He seemed surprised that I had turned around initially," she said. "I saw his head tilt from side-to-side, like [he's] trying to figure out what he's supposed to be doing in the scenario."
"Essentially, what he did in defense terms was that he opened up all of the lines of attack that I could possibly make to him," she added.
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Smith said he believes Hughes acted out for social media content, given that he didn't actually harm anyone, either for "his own sick personal amusement" or to possibly monetize it.
"There wasn't an attempt by himself to lay hands on anyone," Smith said. "He didn't brandish any weapon, although in the case of the jogger, he did have his right arm behind his back, implying that he had a weapon. but at no point in time did he furnish a weapon."
Investigators have so far identified three social media accounts connected to Hughes, authorities said.
As far hs whereabouts, Hughes "has a tendency" to travel to unspecified locations on the West Coast for employment, authorities said.
Police say Hughes has connections to California and Nevada.
They describe him as a Black male with a medium complexion, 5-foot-8, thin build, wearing a white Chucky-style Halloween mask with black hair, and a black/blue plaid backpack.
Krasner warned potential copycats who were thinking of imitating Hughes' behavior.
"There is nobody in the world who should be trying to imitate what this scared man who's running is doing," he said. "Now 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."