Def Leppard Drummer Rick Allen Reportedly Assaulted Outside of Florida Hotel
As reported by 7 News Miami, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was assaulted on Monday night (Mach 13) outside of a Four Seasons hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
One night earlier, Allen had performed with Def Leppard at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, a co-headlining gig with Motley Crue as the two bands continue their globe-trotting tour.
It is said that Allen was "violently attacked" by 19-year-old Max Edward Hartley, an Ohio native who was visiting Florida, while outside smoking a cigarette in the hotel's valet area. Per 7 News Miami, police indicate that Hartley was positioned behind a pillar before running "full speed" toward the 59-year-old drummer and knocking him down. A police report allegedly states Allen "hit his head on the ground causing injury."
A woman who was near the scene of the incident is said to have rushed to aid Allen, which then provoked Hartley to unleash another attack. He supposedly struck her while on the ground and later, after the woman attempted to seek refuge to the hotel's interior, dragged her "out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk" before fleeing the scene.
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Hartley was later apprehended at another hotel in the area where he was smashing car windows. A 7 News Miami photographer was on the scene and asked Hartley if he's a Def Leppard fan, which went without reply.
Hartley is now being charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and abusing an elderly or disabled adult and it is said that Allen is seeking prosecution.
Up next for Def Leppard are a series of dates in the U.K. and Europe and you can see all of their upcoming tour dates here. For tickets to Def Lep and Motley Crue's co-headlining tour, head here.