Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen injured in attack in Florida – National

A 19-year-old man has been charged with assault after he allegedly attacked Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen outside a hotel in Florida on Sunday.

Police claim Ohio native Max Edward Hartley jumped out from behind a pillar and charged at Allen, who had lost an arm in a car accident in 1984. Allen, 59, was reportedly smoking a cigarette outside the Four Seasons in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the time of the attack.

The charge from Hartley caused Allen to fall over and “hit his head on the ground causing injury,” according to a police report from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

A woman inside the hotel witnessed the attack and attempted to intervene. Police claim she was also attacked, and that Hartley continued to “batter her by striking her” while she lay on the ground. When she attempted to escape, Hartley reportedly grabbed the victim by her hair.

Hartley has been charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and abusing an elderly or disabled adult without great harm.

After the attack, Hartley fled the scene but was arrested at a nearby hotel where he was caught breaking car windows.

Hartley was released on bail from Broward County Jail on Tuesday. He has not commented publicly on the charges against him.

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7News Miami asked Hartley if he was a Def Leppard fan but did not receive a response.

Allen is cooperating with police and intends to press charges, the outlet reported.

Def Leppard, the English rock band formed in 1976, was in Fort Lauderdale to co-headline a performance with rock band Mötley Crüe at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Sunday.

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