Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was reportedly assaulted outside of a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. where he was staying.
Per WSVN, Allen was standing near the valet area at the Four Seasons in town smoking a cigarette. A police report states a 19-year-old man named Max Edward Hartley, who was in town from Ohio, “violently attacked” Allen.
Hartley reportedly was hiding behind a pillar near the valet area. He suddenly ran at Allen, knocking him to the ground. This resulted in the drummer hitting his head on the ground. After Hartely charged at Allen, the police report states a woman emerged from the hotel to help him, but then Hartely attacked her, too.
WSVN notes, “Hartley was arrested after he was found at a nearby hotel breaking car windows.” He’s being charged with “two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief, and abusing an elderly or disabled adult.” (Allen, of course, lost his left arm in a 1984 car accident.)
Neither Allen nor the Def Leppard camp has commented on this incident. However, WSVN added, “Allen provided a sworn statement to police and told them that he indeed wants to prosecute.”
Allen was in town for a March 12 show with Def Leppard at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.