Anita Joy, who was with the “General Hospital” actor when he was shot by catalytic converter thieves, describes the events leading up to his death. NBC Los Angeles’ Camilla Rambaldi reports.
The co-worker of Johnny Wactor recounted Friday the final moments of the “General Hospital” actor who was shot and killed in downtown Los Angeles last week.
Anita Joy, who worked with Wactor at the Level 8 bar nearly a year, said they walked toward their cars near Pico Boulevard and Hope Street.
“We noticed his car was at a strange angle,” Joy recalled. “Our initial thought was, ‘Oh, no. We’re getting towed.’”
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Quickly they realized three people were trying to steal a catalytic converter from Wactor’s car.
“He continued walking forward in front of me,” she recalled. “We confronted the guys and said, ‘Hey this is his car. What are you doing?’”
Joy said Wactor had his palms up to his side when one of the thieves stood up and fired his weapon.
“Johnny stepped forward towards the one, and I heard a gunshot. I heard a crack,” she described. “The guy just reacted and shot him. There was no warning, no verbal confrontation. It was just an immediate reaction.”
Joy said she hadn’t realized he was shot until she tried to pull him up after he fell to the ground.
“I said, ‘Johnny honey, are you ok?’ And he said, ‘Nope. Shot!”
Joy said seconds after Wactor uttered his last words, she saw blood on her hands, his shirt and chest.
“He had a shot directly to the chest,” Joy explained, saying everything happened fast.
While she said she is still taking it one day at a time after the traumatic incident, she said she was with Wactor when he died.
“I really feel like he is my new guardian angel,” Joy said. “I’m grateful I was with him. He wasn’t by himself.”
Wactor was shot and killed by one of the catalytic converter thieves without provocation, according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement issued Tuesday. The coroner's report said he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Automobile catalytic converters contain precious metals that thieves try to re-sell.
No arrests were reported in the killing that left Wactor's friends, family and colleagues in mourning.
The three individuals were wearing dark clothing and left the scene in a dark sedan after the shooting in the 1200 block of Hope Street. More detailed descriptions of the attackers and the getaway vehicle were not immediately available.
Wactor appeared on nearly 200 episodes of "General Hospital'' from 2020-22. Other credits included "Westworld,'' "The OA,'' "NCIS,'' "Station 19,'' "Criminal Minds'' and "Hollywood Girl."
"The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Johnny Wactor's untimely passing. He was truly one of a kind and a pleasure to work with each and every day. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones during this difficult time," the ABC daytime drama posted Sunday on X.
Anyone with information about the attackers was urged to call the LAPD's Central Station at 213-486-6606. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit Crime Stoppers.
