Johnny Wactor‘s family and loved ones marched in his honor while calling for a reward to find those responsible for his death.
Micah Parker and Wactor’s other friends came together on Wednesday, June 12, to raise awareness about his murder while pressuring Los Angeles officials to continue to look into his death, according to KTLA. The rally, which ended at Los Angeles City Hall, came nearly one month after Wactor died at the age of 37 following a fatal shooting.
Wactor was shot in Los Angeles on May 25 while shielding his coworker from three men who were attempting to steal the catalytic converter from his car. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital with the cause of death listed as homicide on a coroner’s report.
Johnny’s mother, Scarlett Wactor, spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about her son’s shocking death days later.
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“When the person looked up he had on a mask, like a bandana. When he saw that he immediately knew something was wrong, and that’s when he stepped in front of his coworker,” she said last month. “The car was jacked to one side, angled near his car, and one person was down low. That’s why he said, ‘Hey, man, you towing my car?’ He was not angry from what I believe. He put his hands up and backed up or both, and they shot him.”
Scarlett pointed out that Johnny “would have given” his car to the people responsible for his death, adding, “If you read and see the outpouring of love, Johnny was such a bright light for anyone and everyone, and he offered to help anyone.”
At the time, Scarlett noted that she wanted “justice” for her son and didn’t want him to become “a cold case.”
Johnny’s bar coworker Anita Joy also spoke out about how he protected her in his final moments.
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“Johnny was between me and the man who shot him — as I heard the shot ring into the night, he forcefully tumbled back into my arms and as I grabbed for him, I shouted, ‘Hunny, you OK?!’ And he only responded, ‘Nope! Shot!’” she wrote via Instagram. “We toppled onto the street, where I pushed my legs under him and tried to hold his body up while screaming for help and screaming at him to stay with me.”
She added: “It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it. But my God, he fought to stay.”
Before his death, Johnny rose to stardom playing Brando Corbin on General Hospital between 2020 and 2022.
The show paid their respects in May with an official statement, which read, “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.”
