DEF LEPPARD‘s Rick Allen has thanked fans for their “overwhelming support”, less than a week after he was assaulted in South Florida.

The 59-year-old drummer and his bandmates were in Florida to perform a co-headlining show with MÖTLEY CRÜE at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel And Casino last weekend and he had gone outside the Four Seasons hotel in Fort Lauderdale on Monday (March 13) to smoke a cigarette when he was violently attacked by a 19-year-old from Ohio.

Police say the suspect, who was initially hiding behind a pole, ran toward Allen at full speed, striking him and knocking him backward and slamming his head on the ground and “causing injury.”

The suspect, who is facing a charge of abuse to an elderly or disabled adult without great harm, was arrested Monday and has since bonded out of jail, records show.

Yesterday (Sunday, March 19), Allen took to his social media to write: “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.

“Rick Allen & Lauren Monroe“.

A few days ago, Fort Lauderdale police released 911 calls that led to the arrest of a man in connection with the Allen assault.

In the first 911 call released by Fort Lauderdale police, a woman working security for the Four Seasons called around three minutes after the alleged attack.

“Apparently a guest, some guy assaulted her and was actually beating her up in front of the front of our building,” the woman told 911, adding that the female victim was in the lobby of the hotel but the suspect had fled. She didn’t mention Allen.

Another caller who said the suspect was trying to break into his restaurant — the Wine Garden, which is near the Four Seasons — told 911, “Send the police here right now!…I’m sitting on a fucking suspect.”

Another man on the same call explained, “I was sitting out front. This guy, I caught him throwing chairs inside our establishment and then he ran.”

He said the suspect was trying to break the restaurant’s window, and they chased him and caught him.

A third caller from the nearby Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Hilton said: “I have an individual who has been running around breaking windows and has beat up a couple of guests at the Four Seasons, as well.” He added the suspect was allegedly “very highly intoxicated.”

The police report, which was obtained by TMZ, says a woman came out of the hotel to try to help Allen, but the suspect also knocked her to the ground.

The report said: “While she is on the ground, the defendant continues to batter her by striking her. (She) attempts to escape by running into the hotel. The defendant then grabs (her) by her hair and drags her out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area.”

The suspect declined to comment when approached by Miami’s 7 News WSVN and was asked, ‘Are you a DEF LEPPARD fan?”

Allen, who lost his left arm in a car accident back in 1984, provided a sworn statement to police and told them that he wanted the suspect to be prosecuted.