"One of the worst parts is just not being able to have a conversation with him again. One of my best friends," said the actor's brother Lance Wactor.
"Going to miss his guidance that he didn't realize he was giving you until it's later on that he's always trying to push you to be better, said another brother, Grant Wactor.
"He loved living. He lived life to the fullest. Whatever he did, whether it was acting or rock climbing or even bartending, he did it 110%," said the 37-year-old actor's mother Scarlett Wactor.
"Human life is disregarded too easy guys. We gotta make some changes as a community," said Tessa Farrell, Wactor's former fiancée.
Wactor was working at a rooftop bar in Downtown L.A. Friday night. Investigators say, after work, he was walking a coworker to her car near West Pico Boulevard and South Hope Street when he saw three people trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car.
He initially thought his car was being towed, Scarlett Wactor said, and he approached the person to ask if that was the case. But when the suspect looked up, he was wearing a mask and opened fire.
Three suspects fled in a vehicle, police say. Paramedics brought Wactor to a local hospital and he was pronounced dead there.
Police haven't made any arrests.
Wactor portrayed Brando Corbin on the ABC soap opera from 2020 to 2022, appearing in more than 160 episodes before the character was written off.
General Hospital issued a statement on Sunday: "The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Johnny Wactor's untimely passing. He was truly one of a kind and a pleasure to work with each and every day. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones during this difficult time."
Wactor also appeared in a variety of films and TV series, including "Station 19," "NCIS," "Westworld" and the video game "Call of Duty: Vanguard."