Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was assaulted outside his hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Monday, March 13. Allen was staying in the area after performing with Def Leppard the night before at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL, and was attacked while stepping outside the hotel to have a cigarette.
According to 7 News Miami, Allen was attacked by Max Edward Hartley, a 19-year old man from Ohio. Hartley hid behind a pillar outside the hotel, and upon seeing Allen smoking a cigarette, ran full speed at Allen and knocked him to the ground. The police report states that Allen "hit his head on the ground causing injury."
Even worse, an unidentified woman ran out from the hotel to help Allen and was then also attacked by Hartley. "While she is on the ground, the defendant continues to batter her by striking her," states the police report. "[She] attempts to escape by running into the hotel. The defendant [Hartley] then grabs [her] by her hair and drags her out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area."
Hartley was fund breaking windows of cars at a nearby hotel afterward and was arrested. Allen has provided a sworn testament to police and has stated he will be pressing charges against Hartley, who was taken to Broward County Jail on Tuesday, March 14. According to the Daily Mail, Hartley has been charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief, and abusing an elderly or disabled adult.
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