Man, if he really had it set up with the intention of it being on security cams which would then air on TV for the next 2 weeks and probably get used on Empire itself, yet picked the one spot in Chicago where there wasn't a camera focused on it 
Not to mention that the lack of surveillance footage was part of the reason people became skeptical of it. And it is that aspect I am still confused about actually. Because there was no footage of the attack, no footage of the attackers fleeing the scene. The persons of interest it was reported were walking away from the area,
prior to the attack. However, later reports stated that police had got extra footage, but they never stated what that footage showed, so.
If it turns out it was staged, and that Smollett actually intended for it to be shown on camera, that would be funny, but also kind of weird in that it made the story in itself sound 'fishy'.