SALT LAKE CITY — Keeven Wilson likes to be an early riser, but after snoozing his first alarm Wednesday morning, he says his next wake-up call didn't sound anything like his normal iPhone tune.
"I just hear 'boom boom boom boom,'" Wilson said.
He said when he opened his apartment door, he was pepper sprayed by an unknown person.
"They sprayed my face, my chest, my neck, and my first instinct wasn't to run back inside — it was to get away from the situation," Wilson said. "I ran into the 7-Eleven in my underwear, told them that they needed to call the cops; the cops ended up helping me out."
The Salt Lake City Police Department said they responded near 100 South and 300 East where a 22-year-old told an officer that an unknown person pepper sprayed him. Police say the circumstances of the incident are unknown. Wilson says he has no idea who the perpetrator could be, but says he doesn't feel safe in the area he lives.
"There's a lot of homelessness, there's a lot of drug use, there's just a lot of crime in this area," Wilson said.
He said that even while his eyes, back, and chest felt like they were on fire, all he could think about was being on time to work.
"I just really wanted to remain true to myself and show up to work on time and do my work without any excuses, but being pepper sprayed is clearly an excuse to be a few hours late or call out," Wilson said.
In a now-viral TikTok, Wilson, with the help of a Salt Lake City Police officer, explained to his boss why he might be a few hours late coming in.
"He just really wanted to help me and it kind of helped calm me down," Wilson said. "He called my boss, my girlfriend, my friend Tony."
@keevenwilson S/o SLCPD #cops #pepperspray #fyp #foryou #viral ♬ original sound - Keeven Wilson
The Salt Lake City Police Department said: "The officer believed he was having a phone conversation and not being streamed on social media. Despite that, we are proud our officer did his job, remained composed, friendly, and continued to help a person in need."
While many on social media tried to make light of the situation, Wilson wants to make sure people take away the message of safety.
"Stay safe — don't open your door to random strangers," he said.
