A crowdfunding campaign has been launched in support of the family of Johnny Wactor, the former General Hospital star fatally shot Saturday in downtown Los Angeles by a masked assailant as they attempted to steal his car’s catalytic converter.
The GoFundMe page was set up by Michaelle Kind, Wactor’s godmother, and was endorsed by his mother, Scarlett Wactor. “I want to raise money for his mother, Scarlett, and his brothers, Lance and Grant, to be able to travel the distance of 2,000 miles (the many times it may take) to take care of this heartbreaking business which they have been sentenced,” writes Kind. “With God‘s will, the killer will be arrested and the family will see him face to face.”
The fundraising campaign has so far raised $83,000 of a $100,000 goal.
According to a Los Angeles Police Department press release issued Tuesday, officers arrived at the scene, near the corner of Hope Street and Pico Boulevard in L.A.’s South Park district, to find Wactor, 37, “suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.” Wactor was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
According to witnesses interviewed by LAPD, Wactor had ended his shift at a nearby rooftop bar and approached his vehicle, where he “was confronted by three individuals who had Wactor’s vehicle raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter.”
“Without provocation,” the release continues, “the victim was shot by one of the individuals.”
The suspects were wearing masks and dark clothing and boarded a dark sedan, which sped away up Hope Street. Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to call Detectives Gonzales or Martinez, Los Angeles Police Department, Central Bureau Homicide, at (213) 996-4142.
Wactor portrayed Brando Corbin in long-running ABC daytime drama General Hospital from 2020 to 2022. He also appeared in a number of films and TV series, including Station 19, NCIS, Westworld and the video game Call of Duty: Vanguard.
“The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Johnny Wactor’s untimely passing,” the soap said in a tribute statement issued Sunday. “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.”
“One of the worst parts is just not being able to have a conversation with him again. One of my best friends,” the actor’s brother, Lance Wactor, told ABC7 on Tuesday.
“He loved living. He lived life to the fullest,” said his mother. “Whatever he did, whether it was acting or rock climbing or even bartending, he did it 110 percent.”
