Philadelphia police identified a masked man who they say harassed, chased and threatened several people near City Hall, including a woman whom he asked if she was “ready to die.”
On Thursday, Aug. 20, police identified the suspect as 22-year-old Zymire Hughes. Investigators said there is a warrant for his arrest. They also said he may have fled Pennsylvania and has ties to California and Nevada.
Philadelphia PolicePhiladelphia Police
Photos of 22-year-old Zymire Hughes, according to Philadelphia Police.
The incident occurred over a 15-minute span in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Aug. 12, according to Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith.
The suspect, who Capt. Smith said was wearing a “Chucky doll Halloween-style facemask,” was first spotted on 15th and Chestnut streets that morning at 5:18 a.m. Police said he was running up to people trying to scare or antagonize them while holding a cellphone in his hand, indicating he was filming his actions.
Philadelphia police are looking for a masked suspect who has been chasing, harassing and threatening several people around City Hall. NBC10’s Miguel Martinez-Valle reports.
The suspect then entered a Dunkin’ on 15th and Chestnut streets at 5:20 a.m. but was refused service due to having the mask on, police said.
The suspect exited the store and was then spotted on the southwest corner of 15th Street and South Penn Square at 5:25 a.m. running up to more people in an attempt to scare them, according to investigators.
At 5:28 a.m., the suspect then walked northbound on 15th Street, crossed the street and stopped at 15th and Market streets on the sidewalk in front of Dilworth Plaza, police said. He then began chasing after a man who was wearing a reflective vest, according to investigators.
Then at 5:33 a.m., he began to chase after a woman who was jogging on the east side of 15th Street in an incident that was captured on video, police said. According to investigators, the suspect got in front of the woman while holding a phone and repeatedly asked her, “Are you ready to die?”
The woman ran away, screaming for help and injured her leg in the process, police said. The suspect then went on the escalators at Suburban Station at 5:35 a.m., police said.
Prior to identifying him, police said the suspect would face charges that include terroristic threats, harassment and simple assault.
Some who work near 15th and Market streets said they also saw the masked man in the area.
“He’s wearing all black with a mask, a scary mask, so you can’t see any of his identifying features. He just comes up and terrorizes people,” Kate Egan, who works in the area, said.
A security guard who works nearby also shared a photo of the person near City Hall.
Police also shared photos of the suspect without the doll mask on. In the images, he can be seen wearing a surgical mask and holding the doll mask in his hand.
As far as police know, the suspect was not armed. Police are looking into whether the incidents were some sort of online prank, but said the behavior is no laughing matter.
“All the time, especially in the subway, I just saw a man who looked like Blade and was trying to be intimidating, but it wasn’t really intimidating, so I don’t know if this is the thing that’s going on. Hopefully not,” Emmelle Berger, of Center City, said.
Investigators said only one person reported the masked suspect so far. They are asking others who may have interacted with him to come forward.
People who work in the area said they hope police can put an end to the incidents.
“No one wants to go to work in the morning, thinking that they might be harassed somewhere, and it could extend more than just harassment; they could be assaulted,” Egan said.
The incidents have prompted people, mostly women, to seek advice from self-defense expert Jamie Miller.
“I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls mostly over the past 24-48 hours,” Miller said.
“It’s just more of like: what do we do? How do we combat this?” Miller said.
Miller recommends remaining aware of your surroundings and doing whatever it takes to get to safety if confronted with a similar situation.
“You fight. You do whatever you can to get yourself out of that situation. And I know that in a lot of these cases it’s fight or flight. Sometimes we freeze, we fawn, right. But in most cases I say: educate yourself. Learn self-defense,” Miller said.
Miller said she is partnering with the police district that covers Center City to offer a free self-defense class in light of the incidents.
Police are also concerned about potential copycats and are warning people not to imitate the behavior.