More details are coming to light about Jussie Smollett's homophobic and racist attack on Tuesday morning in Chicago.
More details are coming to light about the attack Jussie Smollett suffered early Tuesday morning in Chicago.
A source previously told ET that the Empire star was walking when two men started yelling racial and homophobic slurs at him, before repeatedly hitting him. According to the source, the men then poured a substance on him believed to be bleach and one of the attackers put a rope around his neck.
ET has now learned that Smollett was then taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital by his manager.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department also tells ET that Smollett still had the rope around his neck when he made contact with officers at 2:42 a.m. on Tuesday. The spokesperson says that Smollett told detectives in a follow-up interview late Tuesday afternoon that his two attackers yelled, “MAGA country” to him during the attack.
The police spokesperson says the department is currently “utilizing resources to investigate [this case] thoroughly." According to authorities, detectives continue to look at city and privately owned surveillance footage that was recorded in the area where the attack happened.
Meanwhile, an eyewitness tells ET that Smollett visited a Subway fast food restaurant alone early Tuesday morning before the attack, ordered a sub and a salad, and left around 2:15 a.m.
An employee at the Subway restaurant not far from where Smollett was attacked previously told ET that Chicago Police came to the fast food restaurant early Tuesday afternoon looking to review surveillance footage. The Subway location is about a four to five-minute walk from the Loews Hotel where Smollett was reportedly staying.
As for how Smollett is doing following the attack, a source tells ET that the 35-year-old actor -- who has received an outpouring of support from his Empire castmates as well as other celebs -- is "thankful to be alive."
“Jussie is surrounded by family and friends and is thankful to be alive,” the source says. “Jussie is a fighter and will come out of this stronger.”
For more details on the ongoing investigation, watch the video below:
-- Reporting by Brendon Geoffrion and Courtney Tezeno
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