59-year-old Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was attacked by a 19-year-old spring breaker outside of the Four Seasons hotel in Fort Lauderdale last weekend while the band was in town performing with Motley Crue. According to WSVN, Allen walked out of the hotel to smoke when all of a sudden, Max Edward Hartley ran up to him, knocked him down, and started beating him. A women who witnessed the incident from inside of the hotel ran to help the one-armed drummer, and Hartley attacked her too. Allen recently took to Instagram to thank fans for their "overwhelming support" amid his recovery.
"Thank you everyone for your overwhelming support. Your love and prayers are truly helping. My wife Lauren was thankfully not with me at the time of the incident. We are together now, and working on recovering in a safe space. We are focusing on healing for everyone involved. We ask you to join us in our effort to move from confusion and shock to compassion and empathy. We understand this act of violence can be triggering for so many people. To all of the fans, veterans, and first responders in our global community we are thinking of you all. Together with love, we can all get through these difficult times."
Hartley was released from jail on bail last Tuesday. The Ohio teen was charged with "two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief, and abusing an elderly or disabled adult."