Images of 'Persons of Interest' in Jussie Smollett Attack Released

The Chicago Police Department has reportedly obtained surveillance video of "persons of interest" in connection with the assault on Jussie Smollett earlier this week.

Chicago PD chief communications officer Anthony Guglielmi tweeted stills from the footage Wednesday night. They appear to show two people walking on the sidewalk of an otherwise deserted street.

"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," Guglielmi tweeted.

The attack, which left Smollett hospitalized, took place in Chicago at around 2 a.m. local time Tuesday morning. A police statement says the actor has been released from the hospital and is currently in "good condition."

Sources close to the actor and musician, best known for playing Jamal Lyon on Fox series Empire, told TMZ that his assailants hurled racist and homophobic slurs at him ("Aren't you that faggot Empire n*****?") during the attack. Chicago PD says that they also tied a noose around his neck and poured "an unknown chemical substance" on him, which TMZ identified as bleach in their reporting.

Smollett says that his assailants yelled "MAGA country" during the attack, police confirmed to CBS News Wednesday afternoon. Brandon Z. Moore, Smollett's music manager, was on the phone with the actor during the attack. He confirmed the language that Smollett says his assailants used.

"I heard that clearly. I heard the scuffle, and I heard the racial slur," Moore toldVariety.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation, ABC Newsreports. They are considering the attack a possible hate crime.

Smollett is still expected to perform live in concert at the Troubador in West Hollywood this Friday, a spokesperson from his team confirms to Out.

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