'Are you ready to die?': Hunt for 'Chucky-style' masked assailant caught terrorising women in Philadelphia
The suspect is also accused of making threatening comments while chasing a woman in
A suspect caught on camera chasing women while wearing a "Chucky-style Halloween mask” is being hunted by police after stalking the streets of Philadelphia.
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The masked suspect, described by police as “punk", was captured on CCTV at around 5:30am on Wednesday as he chased a 40-year-old female jogger close to City Hall.
Footage shows the figure sprinting after the jogger, with the masked man allegedly holding up a phone before repeatedly shouting “are you ready to die?”.
Identified as 22-year-old Zymire Hughes, whom police believe may have fled the state, Philadelphia police have identified ties linking him "to California and Nevada".
“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.
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“He’s a punk. I mean, that’s the bottom line," he continued.
"He’s a punk who scared a lot of people for no good reason, and we’re not going to tolerate it.”
Philadelphia authorities voiced their belief that Hughes may have pulled a similar stunt before, as the force asked other victims to come forward.
“Zymire Hughes was trying to scare people, make them run. Who’s scared now?” Krasner said, adding: “Who’s running now?”
Philadelphia police Captain Jason Smith added on Thursday that Hughes is alleged to have held up a phone and repeatedly asked the fleeing jogger, "Are you ready to die?"
He then said: "She's startled. He repeats that phrase. She turns around, runs away from him, and in the process she severely injures one of her legs.
The captain also said it's clear that Hughes is "attempting to the best of his ability to conceal his identity".
Officers believe the 22-year-old was carrying a distinctive blue plaid backpack, with the suspect dodging into a metro station, where transit police asked him to take the mask off, Smith said.
"Underneath that Chucky-style Halloween mask, he's got a black COVID-style mask underneath of that, which he never removes," Mr Smith said, referring to the killer doll from the Child's Play horror franchise.
Smith said it’s clear that Hughes is “attempting to the best of his ability to conceal his identity.”