A man wearing a Chucky doll mask chased a female jogger in Philadelphia, asking her 'Are you ready to die?' The suspect, described as a black male aged 16 to 20, has terrorized the city in recent weeks, chasing at least six people.
Chilling encounter captured on video
Footage shows the woman exercising in the US city of Philadelphia. Moments later, she is followed by a masked man dressed as a Chucky doll. Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith described the encounter: "He's holding his cell phone up in front of her, at which time he asks her: 'Are you ready to die?' [She] appears startled, at which time the male asks her again, 'Are you ready to die?' Clearly she's not ready to die, so she takes off."
The police chief added that the man did manage to injure the jogging woman while she was running away. She was seen by witnesses "screaming for help".
Witnesses describe frightening events
Jameka, a witness who saw the incident unfold, spoke about the frightening series of events. She said she saw the man prowling behind the woman and attempted to warn her. Speaking to WPVI, Jameka said: "I started to wave at her from across the intersection and say, 'Hey there's someone behind you, look behind you." She added that the man attempted to force himself inside a coffee shop before he turned his attention to Jameka.
Jameka stated she fought off the attacker, kicking him in the chest while she was screaming. However, she added that something seemed off about the man. She said: "He just seemed so disoriented about what his goals actually were. I had bags; he wasn't reaching for those. It didn't seem like he had a clear goal to do anything so I was like, let's see if you can fight, and he couldn't."
Suspect faces charges, manhunt underway
Cafe employee Kate Egan, who watched the man terrorise a member of staff she works with, stated: "It's really unsettling just trying to get to work and have a kid like this actively terrorising women. I really hope he is caught."
The suspect now faces charges of terroristic threats, harassment, assault, reckless endangerment and intimidation. CCTV footage has captured the suspect walking around a Dunkin Donuts chain brandishing the "distinctive, Chucky doll Halloween-style face mask". Police Captain Jason Smith stated the man was refused service due to acting erratically. A manhunt is now underway. Police Captain Smith stated: "Trust me when I tell you this… we're going to do our darnedest to try and locate this individual."
