Rick Allen attack: Teenager arrested after Def Leppard drummer from Sheffield is attacked outside hotel in Florida

By Robert Cumber
Published 17th Mar 2023, 10:27 BST
Updated 17th Mar 2023, 10:27 BST
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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, from Sheffield, has been attacked outside a hotel during the band’s world tour.

The 59-year-old was smoking a cigarette outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when a man ran towards him and knocked him over, causing his head to hit the ground, according to police. The attacker then allegedly set upon a woman who came to Allen’s aid, knocking her to the ground and battering her.

A 19-year-old, Max Hartley, of Avon, Ohio, was arrested and has been charged with one count of abusing an elderly or disabled adult without great harm following the incident on Monday, March 13. Allen lost one of his arms after a car crash on the A57 near Sheffield in December 1984, following which he had to teach himself how to play drums again.

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The charge sheet, published by Fort Lauderdale Police Department, states that the attacker had been watching Allen while hiding behind a pole before he ‘at a full run, strikes (the victim), knocking him backwards’. It describes how the same attacker then sets upon a woman who had come to Allen’s aid, knocking her to the ground, where he ‘continues to batter her by striking her’. When she attempts to escape by running into the hotel, the police report states, he ‘grabs her by the hair and drags her out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area’.

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, pictured second from left with the rest of the band, was attacked outside a hotel in Florida during Def Leppard's world tour. Photo: Anton CorbijnDef Leppard drummer Rick Allen, pictured second from left with the rest of the band, was attacked outside a hotel in Florida during Def Leppard's world tour. Photo: Anton Corbijn
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, pictured second from left with the rest of the band, was attacked outside a hotel in Florida during Def Leppard's world tour. Photo: Anton Corbijn

The charge sheet adds that Hartley was arrested nearby shortly after in a car park, where he was found by staff from the Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel damaging vehicles. Allen subsequently met detectives and provided a sworn recorded statement and ‘expressed his desire for prosecution’. The Star has contacted Allen’s agent to ask about his condition, though he is not believed to have been seriously injured.

Def Leppard are in the middle of a world tour with Mötley Crüe. They are due to play at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane on May 22, with Def Leppard set to sign copies of their latest album, Drastic Symphonies, two days before that in an exclusive event at HMV Meadowhall on May 20.

Police have released tapes of the 911 calls which were made, in which one woman describes a man beating the woman in front of the Four Seasons Hotel, another says he found a man ‘running around breaking windows’ who has ‘beat up a couple of guests at the Four Seasons’. A third caller is heard saying: “Send the police here right now I’m sitting on a f****** suspect.”