The man accused of harassing, chasing and threatening people while wearing a mask near Philadelphia’s City Hall has been arrested, according to the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

Zymire Hughes, 22, was arrested in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Aug. 25, after being wanted by authorities in Pennsylvania, officials said.

Investigators figured out that Hughes had been visiting family in Philadelphia for a few weeks, which is when he wore the mask and terrorized people, Robert Clark, of the U.S. Marshals Service, explained.

Then, on Aug. 19, Hughes left Philadelphia and flew to Orlando from the airport in Trenton, New Jersey, Clark said. From Orlando, Hughes flew to Las Vegas.

Detectives said that Hughes obtained a license as a Las Vegas resident back in February and had a girlfriend there.

After Hughes was profiled on the news, he moved from where he had been to staying to an apartment complex on the southeast side of Las Vegas and hunkered down for about five days, according to Clark.

U.S. Marshals conducted surveillance of the complex for several days and then ultimately took Hughes into custody when he came out of the building to surrender, Clark said.

A man wanted for terrorizing people in a mask around Philadelphia City Hall was taken into custody in Las Vegas on Tuesday. 

Once in custody, Hughes asked authorities about why he was being arrested and why he was placed into handcuffs, Clark said. He tried to escape the cuffs but officials were able to subdue him.

Hughes is being held at the Clark County Detention Center waiting to be extradited to Pennsylvania.

Timeline of the masked man terrorizing people

Zymire Hughes is accused of terrorizing several people in Center City during the early morning hours of Wednesday, Aug. 12, according to Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith.

Smith said Hughes was captured on surveillance video leaving his apartment on 23rd and Venango streets around 2:20 a.m. and boarding the Route 33 bus to City Hall.

While police did not reveal what Hughes did over the next two and a half hours, they believe he approached his first victim around 5 a.m. on 10th and Chestnut streets.

Smith said Hughes, who was wearing a “Chucky doll Halloween-style facemask,” threatened a man who was crouching down and had his hands up in a “pleading motion.”

Hughes then walked along the 1100, 1200 and 1300 blocks of Chestnut Street where he tried to harass around 15 more people, according to investigators.

Police said he was running up to the victims and trying to scare or antagonize them while holding a cellphone in his hand, indicating he was filming his actions.

Hughes 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.

He then exited the store and was 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., Hughes 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, Hughes 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 right hamstring and spine in the process, officials said. Hughes then went on the escalator at Suburban Station at 5:35 a.m., according to officials.

According to investigators, two SEPTA police officers spotted Hughes and yelled for him to remove his mask. Police said Hughes took off the doll mask but was still wearing a black COVID-style mask underneath to conceal his identity.

The SEPTA officers pursued Hughes who managed to evade them and exit Suburban Station, returning to the surface at the intersection of 15th and JFK Boulevard, according to officials. Investigators said Hughes then boarded the Route 33 bus around 6 a.m. and returned to his apartment.