Actor Johnny Wactor, who played Brando Corbin on General Hospital, was shot and killed on Saturday during an alleged car theft. He was 37.
The tragic shooting reportedly happened when Wactor and a colleague saw three men attempting to steal a catalytic converter from his car. His mother, Scarlett Wactor, said that her son confronted the suspects, who fired at him and fled. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 3 a.m. Per the New York Post:
No suspects have been arrested as of Sunday afternoon.
Wactor is best known for playing Brando Corbin in 164 episodes of long-running soap opera “General Hospital” between 2020 and 2022, according to his IMDb profile. He also appeared in the supernatural drama show “Siberia” and an episode of “Criminal Minds.”
His mother told TMZ she would remember him as a loving young man. He leaves behind his mother and a pair of younger brothers, the outlet reported.
Wactor’s tragic death comes when Los Angeles has experienced an unprecedented crime wave that has claimed several celebrity victims in the past two years. In August 2023, for instance, two victims were robbed at gunpoint outside of the celebrity-frequented restaurant Craig’s on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. As Breitbart News reported previously, several celebrities found themselves in near-violent or extremely violent altercations in Los Angeles in 2023 when the city faced an unprecedented crime wave ahead of its mayoral election:
In February, a man was arrested after targeting White Lotus and Baywatch star Alexandra Daddario’s house with a loaded gun. The gunman went to the actress’ home, where he stood outside, screaming.
Also in February, fashion mogul, model, and tattoo icon Kat Von D’s Los Angeles home was burglarized by an intruder who said he wanted to use the bathroom. Von D had also recently announced that she would be leaving California and moving to Indiana part-time due to the state’s “tyrannical government overreach.”
That same month, rapper Kodak Black was shot in the leg outside of an afterparty hosted by singer Justin Bieber in Los Angeles.
In November, television host and actor Terrence Jenkins — better known as Terrence J — narrowly escaped an armed follow-home robbery attempt in which a gunman shot at him.
Actress and singer Katherine McPhee, of American Idol fame, even went as far say that she would not be wearing expensive jewelry out in public.
“No rings watches or anything out in LA anymore,” she wrote.