New details are emerging in the alleged attack and possible hate crime against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.
A dozen detectives are pursuing new leads and have tracked the actor's movements that night through video and photos, Chicago Police tell ABC News.
They say video shows Smollett walking across the street from two possible persons of interest, whose photos were released late Wednesday to the public. In the video, Smollett walks out of frame for about a minute and reappears on another camera "wearing a rope like a neck tie," police said.
Police are still hoping to speak to the two men seen in the video about the alleged 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," Chicago Police tweeted late yesterday.
As of Thursday morning, the press office for the Chicago Police Department told ABC News there haven't been any new developments.
President Trump called the attack "horrible" while discussing a wide range of issues Thursday afternoon.
"Doesn't get worse, as far as I'm concerned," he said.
The "Empire" star told police the alleged attack happened Tuesday about 2 a.m. The 36-year-old actor was subsequently hospitalized and released, local authorities said.
Smollett has been cooperating with local authorities to find the men he says allegedly attacked him and shouted racial and homophobic slurs, police said.
Smollett has declined to hand over his cell phone to detectives, police added.
Smollett told police that the men also allegedly poured "an unknown chemical substance" on him, possibly bleach, and wrapped a rope around his neck, as shown in the new video. The rope was still around Smollett's neck when police spoke to him, officials said.
Brandon Z. Moore, Smollett's music manager, told ABC News he was on the phone with the actor when he heard part of the alleged attack. He also heard the words "MAGA country," presumably from the alleged attackers, he added.
"I heard that clearly," he told ABC News. "I heard the scuffle and I heard the racial slur."
Police confirmed they have spoken to Moore and his account is noted in the police report. Moore and Smollett both said they were on the phone with each other at the time of the attack, police added.
Detectives have not yet seen phone records to confirm their accounts, police said.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, "Empire" co-star Terrence Howard said a production manager notified the cast about the attack in a meeting on set Tuesday.
The actor said Fox boosted security on set in the wake of the incident and offered each cast member 24-hour personal security.
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/details-emerge-jussie-smollett-attack-video-shows-actor/story?id=60750500
2019-01-31 18:01:00Z
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