There are two new developments in the investigation into the reported attack on “Empire” star Jussie Smollett. Chicago police confirmed to ABC News that they located building surveillance video showing Smollett walking through his lobby with what police described as a rope like a necktie around his neck.
Separately, a neighbor told TMZ, and says she told police, that she saw a man outside the building about 90 minutes before the time Smollett says he was attacked. She asked that her name be withheld. According to TMZ, she was walking her dogs around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when she noticed a white man pacing between the parking garage and the building entrance, smoking a cigarette and appearing agitated.
She told the outlet he looked out of place and described his clothing as a blue beanie, a blue hooded zip up sweatshirt and blue jeans. She also said she noticed what looked like a rope or clothesline sticking out from the bottom of his sweatshirt, and that he appeared to be watching another man standing near a different entrance. After about five minutes she went back inside. She says that after the doorman told her about the attack hours later, she shared what she saw, and he urged her to contact detectives. Police have not confirmed that this man is connected to the incident.
Police are still working to find video of the attack itself. They have released images of persons of interest seen on surveillance cameras in the area around that time. In the meantime, the Smollett family issued a statement calling the incident a “hate crime” and saying Jussie has told police everything from the start and that his story has not changed.
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