Overview
- Police on Aug. 20 named 22-year-old Zymire Hughes as the man wanted in connection with a series of confrontations near City Hall and issued an active arrest warrant for his capture.
- Investigators say the episodes on Aug. 12 unfolded over roughly 15–20 minutes during which a masked man ran up to multiple pedestrians, filmed encounters on a cellphone, and chased a 40-year-old jogger while reportedly asking, “Are you ready to die?”
- Authorities traced the suspect using surveillance video and transit footage that show him entering Suburban Station, briefly removing the Halloween mask while keeping a surgical mask on, and then evading officers.
- Prosecutors expect to pursue several charges including terroristic threats, harassment, simple assault, reckless endangerment and intimidation once Hughes is taken into custody.
- The Philadelphia Police Department and U.S. Marshals are leading a nationwide search that targets Hughes’s reported ties to California and Nevada, and officials urge anyone who sees him to call 911 or submit tips to the police tip line rather than approaching him.