Def Leppard Drummer Rick Allen Assaulted Outside Hotel By Teenager

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Rick Allen: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
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This past Monday (Marth 13th), Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was assaulted outside of a Fort Lauderdale hotel. As reported by 7 News Miami, Allen was staying at this particular hotel (which was a Four Seasons). That past weekend, the band had just played a show at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Prior to the attack, the Def Leppard drummer was chilling outside in the valet area and trying to relax with a smoke. But at one point during this smoke, per a police report, the drummer was attacked by 19-year-old Max Edward Hartley.

Hartley is not from Florida, but is from Ohio and was visiting the state.

Per the police report, Hartley was initially hiding behind a pillar somewhere near Allen, and then at full speed, ran at the drummer and knocked him over. Also per the report, upon being hit by Hartley, Allen “hit his head on the ground causing injury.”

A woman who saw this all go down ran out and attempted to help Allen, but then Hartley started attacking her. Referring to what went down with this woman, the report says:

“While she is on the ground, the defendant continues to batter her by striking her. [She] attempts to escape by running into the hotel. The defendant then grabs [her] by her hair and drags her out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area.”

Sometime after these assaults took place, Hartley was found breaking car windows at a nearby hotel and was arrested. Hartley has been charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief, and abusing an elderly or disabled adult.

Hartley was bailed out of jail this past Tuesday. Upon leaving jail, a 7News photographer asked why he would knock over a man with one arm and if he knew who the man was; Allen lost an arm back in 1984 in a car accident. Hartley provided no comment.

At another point, he was asked, “Max, are you a Def Leppard fan?” To which Hartley did not reply. Ultimately, the only thing that Hartley said to those questioning him was “stop.”

Allen did give the police a sworn statement and said he wants to prosecute.

Hope you’re doing relatively okay Rick.

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