The Chicago Police Department has released footage of potential persons of interests in the alleged attack on Jussie Smollet.
On Wednesday (January 30), Chicago PD's Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi tweeted photos of two seemingly masked men, wearing all black, while walking near Jussie's home on Tuesday (January 29), around the time of his attack. "Photos of people of interest who were in area of the alleged assault & battery of Empire cast member. While video does not capture an encounter, detectives are taking this development seriously & wish to question individuals as more cameras are being reviewed," the Chief Communications Officer tweeted alongside the images.
The 35-year-old Empire star was brutally attacked in what is believed to be a hate crime in Chicago around 2 AM on Tuesday by two men wearing ski masks, TMZ previously reported. Jussie had just arrived to the city from New York and made a late-night run to a Subway when someone yelled: "Aren't you that f**got 'Empire' n**ga?" The two attackers, who have been identified as white males, then proceeded to jump the actor. While he fought back, Jussie was ultimately overtaken by the men. During the attack, the suspects also reportedly put a rope around Jussie's neck, poured bleach on him and yelled, "This is MAGA country." Jussie rib's were fractured and he was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment. He was released soon after.
Sources told TMZ that the actor had received a disturbing letter, which read: "You will die f**," eight days prior to the attack. Law enforcement sources told the gossip site that the Chicago PD is investigating the incident as a battery and potentially treating the incident as a possible hate crime. "Given the severity of the allegations, we are taking this investigation very seriously and treating it as a possible hate crime,"Anthony Guglielmi, previously said in a statement. "Detectives are currently working to gather video, identify potential witnesses and establish an investigative timeline. The victim is fully cooperating with investigators, and we ask anyone with information about this incident to contact Area Central Detectives at 312-747-8382 or report it anonymously to www.cpdtip.com."
Photo: Getty Images