Persons of interest questioned in Jussie Smollett attack case

Police investigators are questioning two people as persons of interest in actor and singer Jussie Smollett’s attack case.
The 36 year old Empire star was assaulted by two men outside his apartment in Chicago, Illinois. During the attack the thugs allegedly poured a chemical substance over him and tied a noose around his neck while yelling racial and homophobic slurs.
Following the alleged attack, two men were captured on surveillance video near the area where the incident took place and now police officials have identified the persons of interest. They are being questioned, but authorities insist they are not suspects.
“Through a meticulous investigation, ChicagoPolice detectives have identified the persons of interest in the area of the alleged attack of the Empire cast member,” Anthony Guglielmi, the chief spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department writes on Twitter. “These individuals are not yet suspects but were in (an) area of concern and are being questioned. Investigation continues.”
“Important for media reporting: The people of interest are alleged to be in the area where a crime was reported,” another message adds. “They are not considered suspects at this time as they are currently being questioned by detectives. We remain in communication with the alleged victim.”
To help police with their investigation, the actor handed over his partial phone records on Monday (11Feb19), revealing he was chatting to his manager at the time of the incident. However, on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told Entertainment Tonight that detectives had rejected the records Smollett submitted via PDF because they were so heavily redacted.
The spokesperson insisted that Smollett was not being accused of manipulating his phone records, revealing the actor was being co-operative with the investigation and is still being treated as the victim of a hate crime.