Co-worker who witnessed shooting death of 'General Hospital' actor Johnny Wactor speaks out

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The co-worker and friend who was with Johnny Wactor when the former "General Hospital" actor was shot and killed is speaking out about the tragic night, saying it all happened in an instant.

Anita Joy sat down with "Good Morning America" and recounted her beloved friend's final moments.

"Going through that together, I'm grateful that I was there for him and he was not alone," she said. "That's been the only peaceful thing for his mom and I when we walk."

A work shift ends in tragedy

It was in the early hours of Saturday, May 25, when it all occurred.

Joy and Wactor - who have been friends for eight years - worked together at Level 8, a rooftop bar on Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles.

"We were finishing up our bartending shift from Friday night and having to do deep cleaning after our closing, which is unfortunate because it keeps us there longer," she told GMA. "Normally, we're out by 2:30 a.m."

"We got out by 3:15 a.m." she continued. "Johnny was being very meticulous about making sure all of our cleaning was very properly done because our main bar manager was out of town for the weekend and he was kind of standing in his place."

Joy, Wactor and two other workers walked out together.

"I'm walking with three strong guys. There wasn't a thought in my mind of danger," Joy recalled.

The two other workers went a different direction as Joy and Wactor walked toward their vehicles. They were parked next to each other.

"As we get to the front of my car, we noticed his is kind of on an angle. All of sudden, he's like, 'Oh no, I'm getting towed,'" said Joy.

That's when police said they encountered three suspects in masks who were allegedly attempting to steal the catalytic converter from Wactor's car.

"A man is down like on his knees putting a jack under the car and he had the car halfway jacked up and then we realize this is not tow people," said Joy. "He had a ski mask on so we were just suddenly like, 'Oh no, you know, this is bad.'"

Wactor approached one of the suspects, who instantly opened fire on the 37-year-old, and then fled in a dark sedan, according to Joy.

"He approached the man just like one step forward and I hear a loud crack," Joy said. "It was just an instant ... loud. It didn't even, to me, sound like gunfire. It sounded like a high-pitch pop."

That's when she knew something was wrong.

"He just came flying backwards toward me," she said of Wactor. "I grab his shoulders ... the momentum of his body coming backwards twisted me around, I'm trying to grab him because he's tripping over himself. I'm like, 'Johnny, honey, are you ok?' and he went, 'Nope. Shot.' He looked stunned."

The chaos that followed

Joy also described the moments that followed as Wactor lay dying in her arms.

"At this point, his arms were down at his sides and he was just kind of limp. He was just kind of flickering in and out, but he was also trying to gasp for air, and I think that it just kind of obliterated his lung, basically. He's just kind of doing these deep gasps to try to get some air and I'm just screaming at him, 'Johnny! Stay with me, stay with me.'"

She said in those moments, her thought process was everywhere.

"I'm screaming at him, 'Johnny, stay with me.' Obviously, in these moments, there's no real time for thought, so when he first said shot, I'm thinking like shoulder, arm," said Joy. "This is something that I'm going to have to help him get through, but I wasn't thinking this was fatal."

Joy screamed for help and a security guard she knew from work had been nearby and ran toward them and called 911.

Joy said that she and the security guard, whom she identified only by their first name of Bryan, tied her denim jacket around Wactor "to stop the bleeding" and Bryan attempted CPR on Wactor but their efforts were not enough to save him.

"As the ambulance pulls up, he started coughing up blood, and he just slipped away in my arms right there," said Joy.

Wactor was rushed to the hospital where he later died.

Remembering Johnny Wactor

Joy broke her silence about the incident on social media, sharing a lengthy Instagram post late Wednesday.

Wactor's family spoke out on "Good Morning America" in an interview Tuesday and said they were desperate for answers in their son and brother's case.

"They took a wonderful person," Scarlett Wactor, Wactor's mother, said.

Joy feels the same way.

"Everybody has their different experience about their friends and the people in their lives," she said. "Without relating to each other, right off the bat, everybody has been writing the exact same stuff about who he was. It just shows his character and his genuine nature. That's who he was."

"He was the guy to give you the shirt off his back. He was the guy to step in front of you if you're going to get shot, if that's the case. You could be friends with him for 10 minutes, you could be friends with him for 10 years and it's the same energy he would give you."

Bar now exploring safety measures for employees

The owners of Level 8 said Friday they're looking for ways to improve safety for employees.

"At Level 8, we take safety very seriously,'' read a social media post from the establishment. "Since we opened, we have provided the option for security escorts to the nearby parking lot to our staff after hours. And in light of this tragic incident, we have been talking to our team and professionals in the field, and are actively researching additional safety measures for our staff.

We understand that a tragedy such as this impacts everyone differently and profoundly. We are committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for everyone at Level 8.''

The owners called Wactor "a valued and cherished team member'' who was lost "to a random act of violence.''

"This has been difficult to process for all who knew him. He was beloved amongst his peers and co-workers, and we will all miss his talent and generous spirit. Our hearts go out to his family and everyone affected by this senseless, terrible tragedy.''

As part of Joy's social media post, she added, "Level 8 needs to provide parking for their late hour staff as they originally promised. This cannot be something that isn't responded to with action. It needs to be addressed in a manner to prevent anything like this every happening again to the best of their ability. Level 8 needs to contribute to Johnny's family to honor and respect him for all the hard work and effort he did for them.''

Level 8's post included a link to a GoFundMe page that has been established for Wactor's family. As of Friday evening, the page at had raised nearly $110,000.

Meanwhile, the suspects in this case are still at large and police are seeking the public's help to identify them. Dominic Choi, the Los Angeles Police Department's Interim Chief, told Eyewitness News there have been about 32 catalytic converter thefts in the downtown L.A. area compared over 100 in 2023.

"They're substantially down, it's just a very unfortunate situation," he said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.