A man who allegedly donned a Chucky style mask and terrorized people on the streets of Philadelphia has been arrested.
Zymire Hughes, 22, was taken into custody in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. local time on Aug. 25, the U.S. Marshals Service announced in a statement. Authorities had previously revealed he had ties to California and Nevada.
Hughes is being held at the Clark County Detention Center and is expected to be extradited to Pennsylvania, according to authorities.
Suspect Wearing Chucky Mask Terrorizes Streets of Philadelphia
The arrest comes nearly two weeks after Philadelphia Police identified Hughes as the suspect in a series of disturbing encounters near City Hall on the morning of Aug. 12. Police said a man wearing what they described as a “Chucky doll Halloween-style face mask” ran up to and frightened several pedestrians.
In fact, at one point, Hughes allegedly began chasing a man wearing a reflective vest, before honing in on the female jogger.
“He’s holding his cell phone up in front of her, at which time he asks her ‘Are you ready to die?’” Philadelphia Police Captain Jason Smith said. “[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.”
The incidents drew widespread attention after video and images circulated online showing the masked individual approaching people on Philadelphia streets.
One woman appeared to be distracted by her phone and wearing earbuds when the masked suspect rapidly approached her, according to witness Jameka Wilson, a Philadelphia-based actor who previously spoke with Oxygen.com.
At the time, the suspect then turned his attention to someone holding a box, who was chased into a nearby coffee shop, per Wilson.
He then approached Wilson, who kicked him in the chest.
“He seemed immediately confused,” Wilson said. “I don’t think he was expecting that behavior.”
“I feel like he had the intent to harm,” Wilson continued. “But he didn’t have the training or the full audacity, honestly.”
After the frightening encounter, Wilson had a blunt message to Hughes: “They’re gonna find you.”
Oxygen.com was unable to identify or reach legal representation for Hughes for comment.