The colleague who was with Johnny Wactor the night he was shot, speaks out and calls his killer a “coward” as “The General Hospital” star lies dying in his arms.
In a long message published Wednesday on Instagram, Anita Joy opened up by saying she needed a few days to compose herself before sharing Johnny’s story.
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Joy then described the murderer as a “coward who reacted without caring about the wonderful life he led.” She said she was angry and sad, but most of all she wanted justice for Johnny – her friend of 8 years.
Joy said the two men finished their shift at a DTLA bar early Saturday morning and walked to their respective cars nearby. They came across three people trying to steal a catalytic converter from Johnny’s vehicle – and that’s when tragedy struck.
Joy says they first questioned the suspected thieves, thinking the car was about to be towed.
She noted that Johnny was “cool” and non-threatening, simply informing the crooks that it was his car and asking them to leave with “open hands at his sides in peace.”
She said Johnny was between Joy and the shooter when the shot rang out and hit him in the chest.
Johnny “fell forcefully into my arms and as I grabbed him, I shouted ‘Honey, are you okay?!'” and he only responded, ‘No! Shot!'” according to Joy.
She added: “We fell into the street where I pushed my legs under him and tried to hold him and tried to hold his body down while screaming for help and yelling at him to stay with me.”
Moments later, a bar security guard ran across the street, calling 911 from his phone. Joy and the guard, named Bryan, wrapped a denim jacket around Johnny to stop the bleeding. Bryan also performed CPR on Johnny, but nothing could be done to save him due to his fatal gunshot wound.
Joy concludes her statement by demanding that the criminals be arrested as soon as possible and that the bar (level 8) provide parking for the night staff, as they were once promised to prevent such a thing from happening again.