He wasn’t playing. 

The Chucky mask-wearing hoodlum busted for allegedly terrorizing strangers in Philadelphia, asking one if she was ready to die, tried to free himself after being captured, police said — as it emerged he’s had other run-ins with the law.

Zymire Hughes, 22, was captured following a two-week manhunt over the early morning antics in Philadelphia on Aug. 12, where he allegedly chased six people while wearing the mask from the “Child’s Play” slasher movies, seemingly recording the scares for his amusement.

“He was not a happy man being brought into custody,” Robert Clark, the US Marshals Supervisory Deputy, said.

“He actually tried to get out of the handcuffs and had to be subdued by deputy marshals.”

Hughes is set to be extradited to Philadelphia after being charged with assault and making terroristic threats.

One person Hughes allegedly chased and threatened was a 40-year-old female jogger, who suffered an injury trying to run away.

“Are you ready to die?” the sicko allegedly asked her.

His latest run-in with the law came four years after he stole an officer’s badge and threw it down a drain, NBC10

Hughes was ordered to take part in a diversion program, which would’ve allowed him to avoid a conviction, but then he was booted off the course for getting in trouble with the law. It’s unclear what offense he committed.

“It’s rotten behavior,” Larry Krasner, the Philadelphia DA, told reporters at a presser Wednesday, revealing the injuries the woman suffered “were serious enough to put her in the hospital for a few days.”

“I don’t consider this to be a high school kid acting out. This is someone with a troubling history who has to be reigned in.”

Investigators suspect Hughes craved social media attention but stopped short of revealing a motive.

“You can’t just say ‘I’m an influencer and commit crimes,’” Krasner said.

“You can’t just terrorize people, terrorize a community because the reaction of someone who believes she might die at any second you find funny.

“I don’t think it’s funny at all. I think it’s awful. And if you’re dumb enough to record it and make videos, we can use them in court.”

Hughes allegedly threatened five others after being refused service at a Dunkin store at around 5:20 a.m. for apparently acting erratically.

After inflicting terror, Hughes made his way to Suburban Station at around 5:35 a.m. where he was stopped by two Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) officers who ordered him to remove the mask.

Hughes complied with the request but was still wearing a black COVID-19 mask – and after being followed by the transportation officers, he managed to catch a bus and head back to his apartment.

Hughes had been in the City of Brotherly Love for a few weeks at the time of his terror spree before leaving on Aug. 19.

But he went to Trenton, New Jersey, to catch a flight to Florida, before flying back to Vegas – where he had been living since February.

He moved to a different apartment when his photograph was being shared online and in the media.

During their investigation, authorities received a tip-off that Hughes may have fled to Nevada. 

He was arrested Tuesday at an apartment in the southeast of the city where he had been for the past five days.

Clark has since sent a blistering message to Hughes, who will appear in court Thursday.

“By hiding behind a Chucky-style Halloween mask, Hughes terrorized Philadelphia residents and believed he could evade law enforcement. He was wrong,” he said.

“His arrest should send a clear message: you can hide your face, but you can’t hide from the elite investigators of the US Marshal Service.”