“General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor died while trying to shield a female co-worker who was shot by an armed robber for a catalytic converter.
Wachter, 37, was walking an unidentified friend to his car when he encountered three thieves who had jacked up the car around 3:25 a.m. Saturday. His brother Grant told the Daily Mail.
“We were born and raised in the South and would never allow a woman to walk to her car alone,” the grieving brother said.
“He came across them and he thought his truck was getting towed, so he said to the guys, ‘Hey, are you towing it?'” or something.
“And he turned around and saw what was going on, with his coworkers behind him, and they shot him.”
Citing the LAPD’s assessment at the scene, Grant said the actor had stepped back to try to protect his colleagues when the men opened fire.
The assailants, all of whom were wearing masks, fled the scene in another vehicle, police said. As of Monday morning, their identities had not been released.
“We are absolutely devastated,” Wachter’s grandmother, Barbara, told the Daily Mail. “He was just walking to his car. This is completely irrational.”
Scarlett Wactor, the actor’s mother He told NBC News That her son stood up for her coworkers and protected her, calling him “a light in a dark room.”
“There’s a big hole inside all of us that can never be fixed,” she said.
According to his mother, Johnny often worked extra shifts as a bartender between his acting jobs and that night he was working later than usual. Johnny left the bar with three co-workers, two of whom went in different directions before Wachter and the woman who was walking with Johnny were questioned.
