‘Who’s running now?’: Philly DA announces charges against masked man accused of chasing women in Center City

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On Thursday, Philadelphia authorities identified the person accused of terrorizing women around Center City over the past week as 22-year-old Zymire Hughes.

Video allegedly shows Hughes wearing a mask and chasing a woman who was jogging near City Hall last Wednesday around 5:30 a.m. Police said he was holding his cellphone in front and asked, “Are you ready to die?”

District Attorney Larry Krasner said an arrest warrant has been issued for Hughes and asked additional victims to come forward.

“If Zymire Hughes was trying to scare people, make them run,” Krasner said. “Who’s scared now? Who’s running now?”

One victim ‘severely injured,’ suspect may have ‘packed his bags’ and fled

According to police, up to a dozen incidents involving Hughes allegedly harassing people in Center City took place between 10th and 12th streets and Chestnut Street. Detectives said between 15 and 16 people were affected by the incidents.

Hughes was approached by SEPTA police officers, said Police Capt. Jason Smith, but was able to evade them by getting on a Route 33 bus at 15th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard and riding to the intersection of 23rd and Venango streets.

“They yell to him to remove his mask,” Smith said while describing video of the suspect.

Hughes is already on probation for a crime in Montgomery County. For the City Hall incidents, he is charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes, including assault. Authorities believe he has fled Philadelphia, saying Hughes “has a tendency to travel back and forth to the West Coast,” including Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

“We received information that he packed his bags, and he left approximately two nights ago,” Smith said. “We’re still trying to confirm that information via video, bus routes, flights.”

The woman who was jogging around City Hall last Wednesday “severely” injured one of her legs while attempting to flee Hughes, which will “require extensive medical treatment.” Smith said Hughes did not pull out any weapons during the assaults.

“There were no other injured parties other than the jogger,” Smith said. “I think he filmed this 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 authorities discovered three social media accounts connected to Hughes: two TikTok accounts and an Instagram account.

“You think it’s funny to scare people? Well, get ready to get scared by us,” Krasner said. “Because we got the handcuffs, we got the jail cell, we got the Philly jury that’s going to tell you it’s not funny at all.”

Anyone with additional information related to Hughes’ possible location or the incidents in Center City can contact the Central Detective Division at 215-686-3093 or 215-686-3094.