'Your love and prayers are truly helping': Def Leppard rocker Rick Allen speaks out after being attacked
Rick Allen has thanked his supporters and said he's thankful his wife Lauren Monroe was not with him at the time.
Def Leppard rocker Rick Allen has broken his silence after he was attacked outside his hotel.
The 59-year-old drummer - who was with the band for a show with Motley Crue - has thanked everyone for their "overwhelming support" and said he is "working on recovering in a safe space" after he became the victim of an assault while he was standing outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale on Monday (13.03.23) smoking a cigarette.
A police report revealed the musician had suffered an injury when his head hit the floor.
And in a statement issued to ABC, Allen said: “Thank you everyone for your overwhelming support. Your love and prayers are truly helping. My wife Lauren [Monroe] was thankfully not with me at the time of the incident. We are together now, and working on recovering in a safe space."
He added: “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.”
The report stated Allen was hit by a man who lunged at him in a "full run" and "knocked him backwards".
A woman who came to help Allen - who lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984 - was also pushed to the ground and assaulted.
The report states the unnamed female attempted to escape by running back into the hotel but was grabbed by her hair and hauled back out into the street.
Officers of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department later arrested 19-year-old Max Edward Hartley of Ohio, who was visiting Florida for Spring Break. Hartley was charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and a count of abusing an elderly or disabled adult.
He was later released on bail.
Allen co-operated with officers and gave a full sworn statement about the incident.
He had performed with Def Leppard at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on March 12, which was the night before the attack.
