Fugitive In Creepy Baby Doll Mask Case May Be Headed To SoCal: Police

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man accused of terrorizing people in Philadelphia while wearing a creepy baby doll-style mask may have fled Pennsylvania and has ties to Southern California, authorities said.

Philadelphia police on Thursday identified the suspect as 22-year-old Zymire Hughes and said an arrest warrant is active.

"Hughes may have fled (Pennsylvania) and has ties to California and Nevada," police said Thursday.

Hughes is known to travel between the East Coast, the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas for work, the New York Post reported.

The warrant stems from an Aug. 12 encounter in downtown Philadelphia, where police said a masked man chased a 40-year-old woman while making threatening comments and keeping one hand behind his back. The woman fell while trying to get away and was injured, according to police.

KTLA reported that police believe Hughes frightened or harassed at least 15 people that morning. Police said no weapon was displayed.

In one encounter with a woman, "he was holding his cellphone in front of her, at which point he asked her, 'Are you ready to die?'" Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith told local TV station WPVI.

Officers later encountered Hughes and ordered him to remove the mask. He complied but managed to evade police and was subsequently captured on surveillance video at several other locations, the station reported.

UPDATE: The masked suspect sought in the 8/12 assaults near 15th & JFK has been identified as Zymire Hughes, 22. An arrest warrant is active. Hughes may have fled PA and has ties to California and Nevada. We’re working with the U.S. Marshals to bring him back to face justice. pic.twitter.com/n1sHVU9yWm

Hughes faces charges including terroristic threats, harassment, assault, reckless endangerment and intimidation, according to the Post.

Philadelphia police said they are working with the U.S. Marshals to locate Hughes and return him to Pennsylvania.