The bartender shielded by General Hospital star Johnny Wactor as he was shot dead has said she is “heartbroken” by the death of her “goofy” friend.
Anita Joy was walking with Wactor to his car at around 3am on Saturday after their shift at a rooftop bar when he was shot and killed in a suspected robbery in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles police department said that three men were trying to steal the catalytic converter from his vehicle when Wactor confronted them and he was shot. He later died in hospital.
Following his death, his brother Grant told The Daily Mail that the 37-year-old shielded his coworker from the three armed robbers who gunned him down.
Joy detailed the events of the horrific tragedy in a lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday in which she said she was “heartbroken” by the “senseless” death of Wactor.
“I’ve needed to take some time to collect myself and my thoughts,” Joy began her post. “I was with Johnny in his last moments and I’m here to be his voice after such unimaginable events.”
She went on to slam the actor’s killer as a “coward” who “reacted without care of the gorgeous life he was taking”.
“So I’m angry, I’m sad and I’m all of the feelings and once… but above all, I am here for Johnny’s justice,” Joy wrote.
She then detailed the events leading up to Wactor’s death, explaining that she and the 37-year-old were leaving their bartending shift together and walking to their cars when they noticed someone tampering with his vehicle.
“We cautiously approached the men, questioning what they were doing, at first thinking the car was being towed,” she wrote.
“We were no threat and Johnny kept his cool as he always did, simply stating that it was his car and for them to leave. Hands open to his sides in peace.”
“As I heard the shot ring into the night, he forcefully tumbled back into my arms,” she continued. “As I grabbed for him, I shouted ‘Hunny you ok?!’ And he only responded, ‘Nope! Shot!’ 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.”
The bar’s security guard then rushed over after calling 911, she said, and performed CPR on Wactor as they waited for emergency services to arrive. She added that the security guard, named Bryan, tied her denim jacket around Wactor’s wound to stop the bleeding.
“It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it but my god, he fought to stay,” she wrote. “I am utterly heartbroken and so very angry.”
“My only peace is that I was with him and this didn’t happen to him alone – my only other peace will be seeing these awful men brought to justice,” she added.
Joy then paid tribute to Wactor, praising his “genuine nature”.
“His energy was magnetic and pulled you in so effortlessly – you were safe with him,” she wrote.
“He treated everyone with love, respect, compassion and he really ‘saw’ you. He was beautiful, goofy as hell, full of work ethic and values.”
“I hope the stamp of his voice saying that every time I saw him never leaves my memory,” she went on, adding, “Just one look into his big blue eyes, followed by a big goofy grin, Johnny made you love him instantly. Absolutely one of the best men I’ve ever known.”
“I’m so grateful to have been a part of his world and him, mine. My heart is shattered with his loss but I believe l have gained the best guardian Angel out there. I love you Johnny Wacky,” Joy added.
Wactor was known for playing Brando Corbin on the long-running soap opera General Hospital, appearing in 164 episodes from 2020 to 2022.
No arrests have been made in connection with his death.
