Mother of Slain "General Hospital" Star Shot Dead Wants Answers From Mayor Karen Bass

Scarlett Wactor wants answers from Mayor Karen Bass about what she calls the skyrocketing crime rate and lawlessness that led to the shooting death of her son, the actor Johnny Wactor, killed as he left work at a DTLA bar on the morning of May 25.

This week, two months after the murder, LAPD officials released photos of the suspected killers who were trying to steal the catalytic converter from Wactor's car when he stepped between a gunman and a female coworker at around 3:30 a.m. Wactor's mother said that when her son was shot, the coworker called 911 and was placed on a long hold.

"Unfortunately," Wactor's friend Micah Parker told Los Angeles on Friday. "That is what was told to Scarlett. Not sure for exactly how long." Now Parker and Wactor's mom plan to be among the throngs expected to show up at City Hall on Tuesday for a 10 a.m. press conference on the Spring Street steps.

Other participants, according to a press release, include District 14 Councilman Kevin De León, LAPD detectives, and private investigators. Wactor's death, press conference organizers say, "highlights the growing concern over public safety in Los Angeles, where violent crime rates are alarmingly high."

The LAPD said the suspected gunman has tattoos over his left eye and on his cheek. After the 37-year-old former "General Hospital" star was shot, the tattooed man fled with two other suspected in a 2018 black four-door Infinity Q50 with a tan interior. The license plate of the vehicle was not released, and the car had been reported stolen, LAPD officials said.

The murder, along with a rash of home invasions across the city, has led to increase fear among Angelenos. LAPD crime statistics were not available online - as mandated by federal law - because the department has changed its Records Management System (RMS) for reporting crimes and arrests, it explained on its website.

"During this transition, users will temporarily see only incidents reported in the retiring crime reporting system," the department wrote. "However, the LAPD is actively working on generating new NIBRS datasets to ensure a smoother and more efficient reporting system."

Until that unreleased date, current violent crime data for the city is not available, which did not surprise Wactor's friends who are demanding justice from Bass' administration.

"We will not rest until Johnny’s murderers are caught and held accountable," Parker said. In a post on Instagram he had harsh words for city officials. "We have to stay loud. They want us to go away, but we aren’t going anywhere."

Wactor played Brando Corbin on the long-running soap opera General Hospital from 2020 to 2022, appearing in 164 episodes. He also appeared in a variety of films and TV series, including NCIS, Criminal Minds, Westworld, Station 19 and the video game Call of Duty: Vanguard.