General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor was trying to protect a co-worker when armed car thieves fatally shot him while trying to steal his catalytic converter in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Wactor, 37, who appeared in 164 episodes of the soap opera from 2020 to 2022, was leaving his side job at a rooftop bar with a female colleague around 3:25 a.m. Saturday in the West Pico Boulevard area and South Hope Street, when he saw the three men and believed they were towing him.
Police said one of the three men, all wearing masks, shot Wactor before fleeing in a separate vehicle.
Wactor was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The suspects remain at large.
Johnny’s younger brother Grant confirmed to DailyMail.com that the actor initially thought his killers were crane crew.
Actor Johnny Wactor was a “southern gentleman” who was protecting a co-worker from the armed robbers who fatally shot her on Saturday, his brother Grant told DailyMail.com.
Wactor, 37, was leaving work at a rooftop bar with a co-worker in the early hours of Saturday morning when he saw three men trying to steal his catalytic converter.
“He passed them and thought they were towing his truck. So he said something to the guys, like, ‘Hey, are you towing?’
Grant said his brother’s last act was one of bravery, protecting the co-worker while she was being shot.
‘And then once he turned around, he saw what was happening and put his co-worker behind him. And that’s when they shot him.
Grant said he and his brothers were raised as “Southern gentlemen” and he was not surprised to discover that he had defended his co-worker.
“We’re Southerners, born and raised, and we would never let a woman walk to her car alone.”
Johnny’s grandmother, Barbara, said he was working at a downtown Los Angeles restaurant as he often worked side jobs as a bartender. Neither she nor Grant knew which bar he was working at that night.
He said Johnny and his coworker had to park about two blocks from the restaurant, so they walked to their cars after finishing their shift.
That area of downtown Los Angeles is called South Park and is near trendy hotels and multimillion-dollar residential skyscrapers.
Grant confirmed that Johnny was shot in the chest when he encountered the suspects who were trying to steal the catalytic converter from his truck.
He added that police told him that Johnny did not try to fight the carjackers, but that the actor was backing away and trying to protect his friend when the shot was fired.
According to Los Angeles police, the shooting occurred at 3 a.m. Saturday in the area of West Pico Boulevard and South Hope Street.
Johnny’s younger brother Grant (pictured, center right) and his grandmother Barbara said that Johnny (pictured, left) was working at a restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, since He often worked side jobs as a bartender. They didn’t know which bar he was working at that night.
He paid solemn tribute to his brother and noted that having a side job was part of his nature.
‘My brother was probably the hardest working person I have ever met in my life. He was a great brother and son,” Grant said.
‘Anyone he played, he made a big impact. He was as charismatic in real life as he was on camera. And he was always genuine, from start to finish.
Grant, naturally, hopes that the men who killed Johnny will be brought to justice.
“I hope they can track down the people who did this. In a way I’m glad this is getting publicity so I can shed some light that things need to change, or find ways so that no one else has to experience this, anymore.” whether it’s murder or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
Johnny was the oldest of three brothers. Grant is the youngest.
“We are completely devastated,” his grandmother, Barbara, told DailyMail.com. ‘She was walking towards her car. Has no sense.’
The suspects have not yet been identified or described, but there is one incident matching the description of the murder that involved the theft of a catalytic converter.
Catalytic converters are often targeted by thieves as they have a resale value of hundreds of dollars.
According to Grant, Johnny (seen here with General Hospital co-star Sofia Mattsson) was raised as ‘Southern gentlemen,’ so he wasn’t surprised that his older brother was walking his co-worker to her car.
Catalytic converters are often targeted by thieves as they have a resale value of hundreds of dollars.
As of Sunday at 5:30 p.m., LAPD officials said they had no further information but the investigation was ongoing.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office for comment.
Wactor appeared in over 160 episodes of General Hospital as the character Brando Corbin from 2020 to 2022.
The actor was also a regular on the 2013 NBC drama series Siberia, which ran for 11 episodes.
She did multi-episode arcs on television shows such as The OA, The Passenger, Westworld, and Hollywood Girl.
Her first foray into television came in a three-episode guest role on the Lifetime series Army Wives.
It had also diversified in production; His IMDb page has three upcoming projects listed. Wactor also wrote a short film called Broken Riders.
Wactor’s most recent work was on the horror anthology Dead Talk Tales: Volume I released earlier this year.
Some of Wactor’s co-stars have begun posting memories of the actor on social media.
Personally, his Instagram page often showed him engaging in extreme sports such as rock climbing.
He is survived by his mother Scarlett and brothers Lance and Grant.
Wactor’s mother described him as a loving young man whose death leaves a hole in her family’s hearts, according to TMZ.
General Hospital co-star Perry Shen posted a beautiful memory of Wactor on X.
‘Johnny Wactor was a beautiful, beautiful soul. Very talented. As you can see in the promotional clip, he is always up for anything. It is fun. He was very fit, but I also loved ice cream and ate all the junk food he ate,” Shen wrote.
“We were all fooled for many years with him.”
“As the tears subside, my stomach literally hurts at this news,” co-star Jon Lindstrom wrote.
‘Johnny was one of those few young people in this business who was kind, modest, humble and always thinking of others. “A talented young man who just wanted to share that talent with the world.”
‘I wish I had enough love to fill the void your loved ones must feel right now, but I know that’s impossible. Johnny will be missed on this plane. For a long time to come. RIP’