Philadelphia police say a man accused of wearing a Chucky doll mask while frightening a female jogger earlier this week may now be hiding on the West Coast.
Investigators have identified the suspect as 22-year-old Zymire Hughes, who authorities believe may have left Pennsylvania after an alleged 15-minute episode in which six random people were targeted.
Police said Hughes allegedly approached strangers while recording the encounters on his phone, including a female jogger whom he harassed by asking, “Are you ready to die?”
“We’ve received information he has a tendency to travel back and forth to the West Coast, California, the LA area, and also Las Vegas for employment reasons,” Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith said.
The incident reportedly started around 5:20 a.m. Wednesday, when Hughes walked into a local Dunkin’ Donuts. Staff members refused to serve him because of what police described as erratic behavior, according to Captain Smith.
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A short time later, authorities said, the masked suspect turned his attention to a female jogger nearby.
“He’s holding his cell phone up in front of her, at which time he asks her, ‘Are you ready to die?’” Captain Smith told reporters at a Monday press conference.
“She appears startled, at which time the male asks her again, ‘Are you ready to die?’” Smith said. The woman tried to run away while screaming for help and suffered a leg injury during her escape.
A witness, identified as Jameka, told WPVI she tried to intervene and warn the victim. “I started to wave at her from across the intersection and say, ‘Hey there’s someone behind you, look behind you,’” Jameka said.
She added that she managed to kick the suspect in the chest, temporarily disorienting him before he fled.
An arrest warrant is active against Hughes and he faces multiple charges including terroristic threats, harassment, simple assault, reckless endangerment, and witness intimidation once taken into custody.
