Chicago police investigating the alleged attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett (pictured in hospital afterwards FaceTiming with Lee Daniels, Empire's creator)

Jussie Smollett was seen on surveillance cameras walking down the same street as the two people police are calling 'persons of interest' in their investigation into the homophobic attack on him, it has been revealed.

Smollett was filmed on surveillance cameras walking home from Subway at around 2am on Tuesday.

The two suspects were filmed by a different camera sitting on a bench on the same street but on the opposite side from where Smollett was.

They were then filmed standing up and walking down the street at the same time as him.

Then, all three walked out of the cameras' view, according to ABC.

Smollett was picked up by surveillance cameras no more than a minute later as he walked into his condo building with a rope around his neck.

He had road salt on his sweatshirt which indicated he had been thrown to the ground.

The Empire star then waited 40 minutes before a friend called 911 to report that he had been attacked.

'Photos (pictured) of people of interest who were in area of the alleged assault & battery of Empire cast member,' police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted Wednesday evening

When police arrived at the luxury apartment building where he stays while filming the Fox show, Smollett had the rope he says was tied in a 'noose' around his neck by his attackers but it was slack, according to police.

He then took himself to hospital to be treated for cuts on his face.

'That I can tell you is horrible. I've seen it ... last night. It doesn't get worse, as far as I'm concerned' President Trump

On Thursday, President Trump condemned the attack as 'horrible'.

'That I can tell you is horrible. I've seen it ... last night. It doesn't get worse, as far as I'm concerned.'

It is not clear if the person who called 911 was his manager, Brandon Z. Moore, who says he was on the phone to him when the attack happened and corroborated his claim that the attackers shouted 'this is MAGA country!'.

When Chicago PD detectives asked Smollett for his cell phone to verify that he and Moore had been on the phone, he refused to hand it over.

'I don't know if it was a privacy issue or what,' police spokesman Anthony Guglieme said on Thursday morning.

The more detailed timeline emerged hours after a neighbor told TMZ that she saw a 'redneck' man loitering outside their apartment building at 12.30am - 90 minutes before the attack - while she took her dogs out.

The men were not filmed attacking Smollett but were seen near where the attack took place at around the same time

SMOLLETT FAMILY SPEAKS OUT The actor's famous family released this statement on Thursday: 'In the early hours of Tuesday morning, our beloved son and brother, Jussie, was the victim of a violent and unprovoked attack. 'We want to be clear, this was a racial and homophobic hate crime. Jussie has told the police everything from the very beginning. His story has never changed, and we are hopeful they will find these men and bring them to justice. 'Our family thanks everyone for their prayers and the huge amount of love he has received. We are thankful to our village for your immense support during this trying time. We are so grateful that God saw him through this cowardly attack alive. 'Jussie is a warrior whose light cannot be dimmed. We want people to understand these targeted hate crimes are happening to our sisters, brothers and our gender non-conforming siblings, many who reside within the intersection of multiple identities, on a monthly, weekly, and sometimes even daily basis all across our country. Oftentimes ending fatally, these are inhumane acts of domestic terrorism and they should be treated as such. They will continue to occur until we hold each other accountable. Make no mistake, words matter. Hateful words lead to hateful actions. Radical love is the only solution, but passivity will be our downfall. 'We, as a family, will continue to work for love, equity and justice until it reigns supreme in our nation and all over the world.' Advertisement

DailyMail.com confirmed that the woman gave a statement to the police but detectives have not yet confirmed what she saw even though there are security cameras at the apartment complex.

The unnamed neighbor told TMZ that she saw two men outside the building.

One had a piece of rope hanging out of his sweatshirt, she said.

'He looked out of place,' she said, describing him as a white man who was wearing a blue sweatshirt, a blue beanie and jeans that were too short and exposed 'thick grey hunting socks.'

Most notable was that the man, who she said was agitated and smoking a cigarette, was carrying a blue and white rope or 'clothesline' which was protruding out from his zip-up sweater.

There was another man about 300ft away, she said, nearer the entrance. The woman said she was 'creeped out' by the pair and went back inside after five minutes.

When she woke up at 4am, there was lots of security round the building, she said.

Once the concierge told her what had happened to 36-year-old Smollett, she relayed to him what she had seen.

Smollett and his manager Brandon Z. Moore both told police they were on the phone when the attack happened. Moore said he heard the attackers yell 'this is MAGA country'. It is not clear if he is the person who called 911 or if it was someone else but Smollett refused to hand over his phone when police asked for it to verify that they had been on the phone

The concierge implored her to phone the police, she said, which she did.

Her description came hours after Chicago Police Department released still images of two persons of interest.

The neighbor's version of events suggests that the two attackers were lying in wait for Smollett outside his apartment building.

Smollett had arrived back in Chicago late after having his flight from New York City delayed. The star lives in Chicago while filming the Fox series Empire.

He was in New York for a reading of the play Take Me Out, which tells the story of a gay baseball player.

Before he flew back to Chicago, he posted on Instagram about the delayed flight and about a show he is set to perform on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

The exact spot where he was attacked sits in between two luxury apartment buildings and two hotels but police say they have not recovered any surveillance footage of it.

A week before he was attacked, the star received a death threat letter at the network's studio but turned down security because he found it 'intrusive'.

The photos show two men walking on North New Street (depicted above) near East Illinois Street around 1.45am on Tuesday. Smollett told police that he was walking alone down East North Water Street in the 300-block around 2am when the two men approached him

The release of the surveillance photos comes just hours after officers said they were unable to find an footage that showed two men attacking the actor.

Officers said that detectives reviewed CCTV video of Smollett walking to his apartment building in downtown Chicago Tuesday morning, and ‘for the most part’ they can confirm the route he took when he says he was accosted by the assailants.

Authorities said a community alert with photos is being constructed and will be disseminated shortly.

Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said detectives are investigating the allegations as a possible hate crime and have already looked at hundreds of hours of surveillance video from businesses and hotels in the heavily monitored area.

Officers expanded the search to include footage from public buses and buildings beyond the crime scene’s immediate vicinity in the hopes of spotting the men who match Smollett’s description of the suspects.

The attack took place here, in the street, outside the apartment building where Smollett stays while he is in Chicago filming. It is in between two luxury apartment buildings and two hotels but police say they have not yet recovered surveillance footage of it

Smollett is due to perform on Saturday in Los Angeles

‘We haven’t seen anybody, at this point, matching the description he gave, nobody looks menacing and we didn’t find a container anywhere,’ Guglielmi said earlier on Wednesday, referring to a container for the liquid that was thrown at the actor.

Smollett has not commented since the incident

Chicago has one of the most sophisticated and extensive video surveillance systems in the US, with thousands of CCTV cameras mounted on street poles, skyscrapers, buses and in train tunnels.

The letter threatening Smollett was sent to the Fox studio on January 22 and was laced with a powdery substance believed to be Tylenol.

The FBI is now trying to determine if there's a link between the homophobic letter and the Tuesday attack.

Following the accident Fox has added security for the rest of the Empire cast.

Much of the cast live in Chicago during filming.

Smollett missed shooting on the set on Tuesday as he recovered from the brutal attack.

He reportedly still intends to return to the set and Empire will resume as planned.

The production has halted filming in Chicago due to the severe cold weather and not because of what happened to Smollett.

20th Century Fox released a statement confirming the incident earlier in the week which read: 'We are deeply saddened and outraged to learn that a member of our family, Jussie Smollett, was viciously attacked last night.

'We send our love to Jussie, who is resilient and strong, and we will work with law enforcement to bring these perpetrators to justice.

'The entire studio, network and production stands united in the face of any despicable act of violence and hate — and especially against one of our own.'