FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (CelebrityAccess) — Rick Allen, the drummer of Def Leppard, issued a statement after he was assaulted outside of a Fort Lauderdale hotel last week.
“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,” Allen said in the statement provided to ABC News.
“We ask you to join us in our effort to move from confusion and shock to compassion and empathy,” the statement continued. “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.”
Allen went on to note that they are focused on “healing for everyone involved.”
Def Leppard were in South Florida following a performance at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel. According to authorities, Allen was smoking outside of the hotel when a man identified as 19-year-old Max Hartley, of Ohio, came up behind him and knocked him to the ground.
A woman who tried to stop Hartley was also attacked, police reports said.
Hartley was subsequently arrested and faces four counts of criminal mischief, a felony; one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of aggravated battery, according to a Fort Lauderdale police incident report.
