The brother of TV star Johnny Wactor has broken his silence after the General Hospital actor was shot dead during a car robbery attempt.
Wactor, 37, was killed in Los Angeles in the early hours of Saturday morning when he intercepted a group of men trying to steal the catalytic converter from his vehicle.
He was shot dead at the scene, Los Angeles police confirmed to TMZ.
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Wactor’s brother Grant told People that Johnny, who was working as a bartender, walked to his car with a female co-worker after his shift at about 3.25am local time when he noticed that his car had been “jacked up or lifted in some way”.
Initially, the actor thought his car was being towed away, but very quickly realised the people surrounding his car were not tow-truck drivers.
Grant said his brother physically shielded his female colleague to prevent her from being hurt and had his hands up in the air when he was shot.
“He did not confront them,” he told People.
“He did not try to stop them.
“He was just trying to diffuse the situation by stepping back.”
After the shooting the men fled the scene in a different car, said LAPD officer Jeff Lee, and the suspects were “still outstanding”.
Grant Wactor said his family were “hoping and praying” that the killers were found and brought to justice.
“We just want (them to be found) as quickly as possible and correctly,” he said, describing his brother as “a good person”.
“He was taken way too early, and no one should be taken like this at all,” he said.
“He touched a lot of people.
“He believed in his core values to the end, and he lived life to the fullest the way he wanted to.
“And he was happy doing that.”
Apart from his role on long-running US drama General Hospital, Johnny Wactor had also starred in Westworld, The OA, NCIS and Criminal Minds.
Good friend Chelsea White told People Wactor had been “one of those people that grabbed your attention the minute he walked into the room”.
“Sure, he was a great-looking guy with a megawatt smile, but it was more than that,” she said.
“His soul and energy radiated warmth and his inner goodness and goofy country-boy antics drew people to him.
“He made you feel cherished. In a place like LA where authenticity is hard to come by, he was the antithesis.
“Whether he was acting or picking up some bar shifts to cover the slow times, he gave it his all.”