Def Leppard drummer attacked outside hotel in Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida. (WSVN) — The drummer for legendary rock band Def Leppard has been attacked outside the hotel he was staying in after a concert in South Florida.

Rick Allen, who sadly lost his arm in a car accident in 1984, left the Four Seasons Hotel for a cigarette in the back room. It was then that a very strange and terrible meeting took place.

Allen was in South Florida to perform at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino over the weekend.

The show, which took place last Sunday, was Def Leppard headlining along with Mötley Crüe.

Allen, 59, is staying at the Four Seasons Hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach.

According to a police report, he was brutally assaulted by 19-year-old Max Edward Hartley, who was visiting from Ohio.

Bailey was released from the Broward County Jail on Tuesday. He was greeted by a 7News photographer who asked why he was hitting a man with one hand and if he knew the man was the drummer for Def Leppard.

“Max, are you a Def Leppard fan?” – he asked.

Hartley turned away without comment.

Fort Lauderdale police said Hartley was hiding behind a pillar outside the hotel while Allen was smoking a cigarette when Hartley, according to the report, ran at Allen at full speed, knocking him over.

The report states that Allen “hit his head on the ground, causing injury.”

The report then states that a woman ran out of the hotel to help Allen, and Hartley, according to police, then attacked her.

According to the report, “while she is lying on the ground, the defendant continues to beat her with blows. [She] tries to escape by running into a hotel. Then the accused grabs [her] by her hair and drags her from the lobby back onto the sidewalk before leaving the area.”

Hartley was arrested after being found in a nearby hotel breaking car windows.

The suspect said nothing to the 7News cameras other than “Stop” as he raised his hands to cover his face, showing visible injuries to his elbows.

He was charged with two counts of battery, four counts of harm and mistreatment of an elderly or disabled person.

Allen gave a sworn statement to the police and told them that he really wanted to file a criminal case.

7News contacted Allen’s media to see if he would be available for comment, but as of Wednesday evening, there was no response.

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