Johnny Wactor’s co-worker is opening up about how the late General Hospital star sacrificed himself by shielding her from being shot.
In a post on Instagram, Anita Joy stated the horrific shooting occurred just as she and the actor had finished their bartending shifts at Level 8 in Downtown Los Angeles on May 25. The duo were confronted by the shooter outside the bar.
“I was with Johnny in his last moments,” she wrote. “And I’m here to be his voice after such unimaginable events.”
She and Wactor were friends for eight years before the shooting. “My friend of 8 years went from laughing together, working side by side, leaving our bartending shift and walking to our cars, to him dying in my arms in the streets of DTLA in the dark hours of 3 am.”
Joy recalled the horrible situation happening in an instant. “I’ve come to describe it as a glass of water that gets tipped over,” she explained. “And you’re scrambling to grab it and save it from spilling out completely, but it just runs through your fingertips and is gone.”
Joy then shared how Johnny Wactor approached the men cautiously in the parking lot. The duo asked them what they were up to. “We were no threat,” Joy wrote. “And Johnny kept his cool as he always did, simply stating that it was his car and for them to leave.”
The co-worker and friend stated Johnny Wactor had his hands open to his sides in peace. He was also in between her and the man who shot him. “As I heard the shot ring into the night, he forcibly tumbled back into my arms,” she recalled. “And as I grabbed for him, I shouted, ‘Hunny, you ok?!’ And he only responded, ‘Nope! Shot!’’”
A Nearby Security Guard Tried So Hard to Save Johnny’s Life
Joy then wrote that she and Johnny toppled into the street where she pushed her legs under Wactor. She tried to hold his body up while screaming for help. She begged him to stay with her.
A nearby security guard, named Bryan, came to their aid. He proceeded to perform CPR on Johnny. “I’m so thankful for Bryan showing up,” Joy wrote. “Trying with his might to save Johnny. It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it but my god, he fought to stay.”
Johnny Wactor tragically died from his injury. He was 37 years old.
Johnny Wactor’s Co-Worker Encourages Level 8 to Make Safety for Their Late-Hour Staff a Priority
While stating the criminals responsible for Wactor’s death need to be caught, Joy also wrote that Level 8 needs to do better to make sure their employees are safe from such incidents.
“Level 8 needs to provide parking for their late hour staff as they originally promised,” Joy pointed out. “This cannot be something that isn’t responded to with action, it needs to be addressed in a manner to prevent anything like this ever happening again to the best of their ability.”
Joy then wrote Level 8 needs to contribute to Johnny Wactor’s family to honor and respect him for everything he did for the establishment. She went on to encourage her followers to donate to the GoFundMe for Wactor’s family.