Following what he says was an unprovoked attack, a Penticton man will now think twice before answering his door in the middle of the night and is warning others to do the same.
Ken Paton was awoken late Sunday by someone pounding on the door of his rental unit on Westminster Avenue.
“I answered the door and it was this guy and he was like, ‘Do you got a rolling paper?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t,’ and I don’t remember much after that,” Paton recalled Wednesday.
What he does remember is falling to the floor in his apartment and later being dragged into a neighbour’s home while his attacker was distracted.
“I got beat on and beat on and beat on,” said Paton, who suffered bumps and bruises and a bite on the back of his right shoulder.
He didn’t fight back, he said, because his two-year-old daughter was in the suite and he wanted the violence to end as quickly as possible.
Paton had seen his attacker, whom he believed was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, once before, but is unsure what prompted the beating.
“I’d almost feel better if he had stolen something, you know? Then I’d know there was a reason behind it,” Paton said.
Now the 34-year-old is warning others to not simply throw open their doors to strangers.
“Don’t get complacent. Don’t assume it can’t happen to you,” he said.
Penticton RCMP spokesman Sgt. Rick Dellebuur said police have recommended an assault charge against Paton’s alleged attacker, who was released on a promise to appear.
Mounties believe it was an isolated incident, since both Paton and the alleged assailant live in the same building, and agree that people should be careful when strangers visit.
“Unless you’re expecting somebody,” said Dellebuur, “You should certainly be cautious and ascertain as best you can who’s knocking on your door before you open your door.”