Beloved General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor slain

Tributes are flooding in for Johnny Wactor, a former General Hospital actor who was slain by robbers in downtown Los Angeles this weekend.

Wactor, 37, was fatally shot around 3 a.m. on Saturday, May 25, as he approached three guys attempting to remove parts from his vehicle, according to published sources.
The LAPD first stated that an adult male was slain when he observed three suspects remove the catalytic converter from his car near the intersection of West Pico Boulevard and South Hope Street. One of the suspects opened fire on Wactor as he approached the group. The three then escaped.

The LAPD did not initially identify the victim. However, a law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times that the individual deceased was Wactor, who played "Brando Corbin" on General Hospital from 2020 to 2022.

During the epidemic, catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed in Southern California, with thieves desperate for cash stealing them from vehicles and reselling the rare metals inside.

In February of this year, Insurance Journal revealed that the Los Angeles region had the highest number of catalytic converter theft claims in the United States.

Wactor's brother, Grant Wactor, told the Times that the actor had been working as a bartender in downtown Los Angeles. He was walking a female coworker to her car after work when he observed a bunch of men approaching his vehicle. The actor approached the men, and one of them fired fire, according to the Times.

Paramedics went to the site and transported Wactor to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The three suspects fled before police officers arrived.

As word of Wactor's death spread, tributes flooded in.

“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,” read a statement on the show’s official page on X/Twitter. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones during this difficult time.”

“When the tears slow down, I am literally sick to my stomach at this news. Johnny was one of those rare young men in this business who was kind, unassuming, humble, and always thought about other people,” added General Hospital star Jon Lindstrom on X.

According to the IMDb website, Wactor is originally from Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to General Hospital, he appeared in the television shows Siberia, The OA, Westworld, Criminal Minds, and Station 19.