Philadelphia police have issued an arrest warrant for 22-year-old Zymire Hughes, who they believe is the person behind a Chucky mask who allegedly chased women through the city's streets.
Officers from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) reportedly approached Hughes, but he managed to escape. According to officials, he was wearing the Chucky mask at the time. Police fear Hughes may have "packed his bags and fled the city" after the incident.
Alleged incidents and charges
Hughes is already on probation over an offence in a neighbouring county and may face a stack of new felony and misdemeanour charges regarding the Chucky doll incidents if he is caught. Alleged offences will include assault, harassment, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and intimidation.
Police say Hughes "has a tendency to travel back and forth to the West Coast" and is believed to have links to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Victim encounters
In one alleged encounter, the masked man was reportedly heard saying to a woman: "Are you ready to die?" Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith said she was not. Smith said: "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."
Smith stated the jogger injured the woman while she was running from the masked man and "screaming for help". Witness Jameka, who spoke to WPVI, said she saw the man prowling behind the jogger and attempted to warn her. "I started to wave at her from across the intersection and say, 'Hey there's someone behind you, look behind you,'" she said. The witness added the man attempted to force himself inside a La Colombe coffee shop before turning his attention to her. Jameka stated she fought off the attacker, kicking him in the chest while screaming. 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."
Police search continues
Police Captain Jason Smith stated the man was refused service at a Dunkin Donuts due to acting erratically. Smith said: "Trust me when I tell you this… we're going to do our darnedest to try and locate this individual." Café employee Kate Egan 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."
