Johnny Wactor, an actor best known for his role on “General Hospital,” was shot and killed on Saturday, reports said, amid what his family described as an attempted catalytic converter theft in Los Angeles.
The fatal shooting occurred around 3 a.m. Saturday, when Mr. Wactor approached three men in downtown Los Angeles. The Associated Press This is reported by the Los Angeles Police Department.
His mother, Scarlett Wactor, told local news station ABC7 that Mr. Wactor left the rooftop bar where he worked late at night and was walking to his car with a co-worker when he interrupted someone who was in the process of stealing the vehicle's catalytic converter.
Ms Wactor said her son initially thought his car was being towed, and when he approached the person to ask, the person “looked up, he was wearing a mask and opened fire.”
Three men fled the scene in a vehicle and Mr. Wactor was taken to a hospital, where he died, the AP reported. No arrests have been made.
Police representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
Mr. Wactor played Brando Corbin in more than 160 episodes of the soap opera “General Hospital.” according to his IMDB page. He also appeared in episodes of 'Westworld', 'The OA' and 'Station 19'.
In a statement on social mediasaid a page for “General Hospital” that the show's cast and crew were “heartbroken to learn of the untimely passing of Johnny Wactor.”
Many of Mr. Wactor from the show posted tributes on social media, including Kirsten Storms, who played the character Maxie Jones. Ms. Storms wrote in one Instagram post“I just can't believe his life was stolen from him the way it was.”
There has been a jump in the number of thefts of catalytic converters, or 'cats' for short, in recent years. These critical emissions control systems are valuable because they contain rare metals, such as palladium and rhodium, that can be mined and resold.