Empire star Jussie Smollett was hospitalized following what’s being investigated as a homophobic, racist hate crime, police confirm. The assault happened around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning outside a Subway in Chicago, with TMZ saying two white men wearing ski masks allegedly shouted “this is MAGA country,” placed a noose around Smollett’s neck, beat him, and left him with a fractured rib.

“Given the severity of the allegations, we are taking this investigation very seriously and treating it as a possible hate crime,” reads the PD’s statement, adding that “an unknown chemical substance”, originally referred to as bleach was poured on Smollett.

Before the attack occurred, Smollett reportedly received a letter obtained by ThatGrapeJuice with cut-out letters spelling “You will die black f*g.” Smollett has reportedly already been released from the Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

This story is being updated.