A man wearing a cracked baby-doll-style Halloween mask spent about 15 minutes running up to strangers in downtown Philadelphia, threatening people, chasing pedestrians, and recording at least some of the encounters on his cellphone, according to police.
One woman was confronted twice. During the second encounter, police said the masked man approached the 40-year-old jogger with his phone in one hand and his other hand held behind his back before asking whether she was “ready to die.”
She ran.
The woman later told investigators she was “screaming for help this entire time,” according to FOX 29 Philadelphia. She fell while trying to escape and injured her leg.
A Strange 15 Minutes Around Philadelphia City Hall
Police said the series of encounters began around 5:18 a.m. on Aug. 12 near 15th and Chestnut streets in Center City.
Surveillance cameras captured the man approaching multiple people at several locations around City Hall. Capt. Jason Smith of the Philadelphia Police Department said investigators believe he managed to accost quite a few people, although most have not contacted police.
At about 5:20 a.m., the man walked into a Dunkin’ on the 1500 block of Chestnut Street. Employees refused to serve him because he was wearing the mask, and police said he left after behaving erratically.
Minutes later, cameras recorded him running toward more pedestrians around Penn Square, 15th Street, Market Street, and Dilworth Plaza. At one point, he chased a man wearing a reflective safety vest, although police said he did not appear to catch him.
The encounter with the jogger came later in the sequence. Police said the man was holding a cellphone with its light on and appeared to be recording when he confronted her.
Investigators have found no evidence that he was carrying a weapon. His decision to keep one hand behind his back while threatening the jogger, however, added another unknown to an encounter that already gave her ample reason to run.
After the incidents, police said the man fled into SEPTA’s Suburban Station.
Another Runner Says She Encountered Him That Morning
The woman who was injured is the only victim known to have formally come forward so far, but she may not have been the only runner to encounter the masked man that morning.
Luanda Marinho told CBS News Philadelphia that she was meeting a friend for a run near 12th and Chestnut streets when a masked man approached them.
According to Marinho, he repeatedly challenged the women to race him and boasted that he was faster. They ignored him.
She later recognized the man after seeing images of the suspect online.
“It was just weird, like some twisted game,” Marinho told the station.
Marinho said the encounter has left the runners considering changing their routes or schedules.
Police Are Looking at Why He Was Filming
The cellphone is one of the more curious parts of the case.
Police said the man appeared to film himself as he approached and frightened strangers. Investigators are now searching social media to determine whether he posted any of the footage and whether the behavior could have been connected to an online trend.
That remains a possibility under investigation, not an established explanation for what happened.
Smith said the department’s intelligence unit is searching social platforms for material that could help identify the suspect.
Police described him as approximately 16 to 20 years old, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with a thin build. He was wearing a white baby-doll-style Halloween mask with black hair and carrying a black-and-blue plaid backpack. At one point, surveillance footage showed him lowering the doll mask while another black face covering remained over the lower portion of his face.
Anyone who recognizes him or believes they were confronted during the Aug. 12 incidents can contact the Philadelphia Police Department at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
Police said that, if identified and arrested, the suspect is expected to face charges that include terroristic threats, harassment, simple assault, reckless endangerment, and intimidation.
Any charges would be accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.