The weirdo terrorizing Philadelphians in a Chucky-style mask has solid connections to California, police said, as he remains on the loose.
The creep, unmasked as 22-year-old Zymire Hughes, allegedly threatened morning commuters last week, asking one woman jogging: “Are you ready to die?”
Philadelphia police said Hughes may have fled Pennsylvania and is known to frequent the West Coast for work, specifically Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
“He has a tendency to travel back and forth to the West Coast — California, the L.A. area — but also Las Vegas. And he would be for employment reasons,” Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith told ABC 6.
Police are working with the U.S. Marshals to bring Hughes back for prosecution. He has an active arrest warrant. Hughes faces charges of terroristic threats, harassment, assault, reckless endangerment and intimidation. He also may face an additional weapons charge for implying he had a weapon to the jogger.
Philadelphia officials believe Hughes creeped out at least 15 people during his spree last week. They believe he was looking for social media fame in the process.
“I believe that he was doing this purely for social media content – either A, for his own sick personal amusement, or B, he had plans of posting it online at some point, and possibly monetizing it,” Smith said.
The jogging woman he chased hurt her leg as she fled and was “screaming for help.”
Jameka, a witness, said she tried to warn the jogger, telling WPVI: “I started to wave at her from across the intersection and say, ‘Hey there’s someone behind you, look behind you’.”
The man then turned his attention to Jameka after trying to enter a coffee shop, and she retaliated.
She claims she kicked the brute in the chest, disorienting him.
“He just seemed so disoriented about what his goals actually were. I had bags; he wasn’t reaching for those,” she said.
Hughes fled to a City Center station of Philadelphia’s rail system after the incident, police said.
Witnesses of the man’s conduct are disturbed.
“It’s really unsettling just trying to get to work and have a kid like this actively terrorizing women,” a witness at the coffee shop said. “I really hope he is caught.”
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