Jussie Smollett's Neighbor Gives New Information on Suspect Seen With Rope

One woman who lives in Jussie Smollett's Chicago apartment building told police that she saw two [...]

By Libby Birk

One woman who lives in Jussie Smollett's Chicago apartment building told police that she saw two suspicious men loitering outside the entrance to the building an hour and a half before the Empire actor said he was attacked.

The tenant, who spoke anonymously to TMZ, said she walked out of the building at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to take her dogs outside and noticed a man near the door, pacing between the parking lot and entrance, who appeared to be holding a rope.

She described him as a white man with scruff on his face, looking agitated, "out of place," and smoking a cigarette. She said he wore a blue winter beanie, a blue zip-up hoodie and short blue jeans with "thick, grey hunting socks" and camel-colored dress shoes.

The woman said she noticed what looked like a rope, or a clothesline, protruding from the bottom of his sweatshirt, made from white and blue material.

She said the man was staring at another man, who was standing near another entrance to the building about 300 feet away.

The tenant said she got "creeped out" by the man and re-entered the building after five minutes.

When she awoke around 4 a.m. to go to the gym, she asked the concierge about the security around the building and was informed that Smollett was attacked. The concierge gave her two phone numbers, and later that day the woman called a detective involved in the case.

As previously reported, Smollett told police he was attacked by two men early Tuesday morning after they allegedly tied a rope around his neck, threw bleach on his face and yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him.

Police released photos of two potential suspects, showing two men wearing dark clothing. They were allegedly seen walking near the location of the incident between 1:30 a.m. and 1:45 a.m. Police are calling the men people of interest as they try to determine if the men witnessed the incident or if they were involved.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted on Tuesday that the men were "in the area of the alleged assault & battery" of Smollett. "While video does not capture an encounter, detectives are taking this development seriously & wish to question individuals as more cameras are being reviewed," he said.

Guglielmi shared details of the attack with PEOPLE. "The victim goes to Subway just after midnight and on his way back, he was attacked by two men," Guglielmi said. "They were masked and wearing black clothing. They called him an Empire... and they used a homophobic slur. They also used the N-word. They proceed to assault him, and they throw a chemical on him that may have been bleach, and put a rope around neck."

Smollett then returned to his apartment and called his manager, who quickly arrived and determined that they should call the police.

Police patrols "responded to the residence to take a report and the victim was still wearing the rope around his neck when they arrived," Guglielmi said. "He explained to them why he had the rope around his neck, and the officers closed their body cams at his request, because they were in his private residence."

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