\n<\/p>\n
Johnny Wactor, an actor best known for his role in \u201cGeneral Hospital,\u201d was shot and killed on Saturday, reports said, amid what his family described as an attempted theft of a catalytic converter in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
The fatal shooting took place around 3 a.m. on Saturday, when Mr. Wactor approached three men in downtown Los Angeles, The Associated Press<\/a> reported, citing the Los Angeles Police Department.<\/p>\n His mother, Scarlett Wactor, told the local news station ABC7<\/a> that Mr. Wactor left the rooftop bar where he worked late in the evening and was walking with a co-worker toward his vehicle when he interrupted someone who was in the process of stealing the vehicle\u2019s catalytic converter.<\/p>\n Ms. Wactor said her son thought his car was being towed at first, and when he approached the person to ask, the person \u201clooked up, he was wearing a mask, and opened fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Three men fled the scene in a vehicle, and Mr. Wactor was taken to a hospital, where he died, The A.P. reported. No arrests have been made.<\/p>\n Representatives for the Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.<\/p>\n Mr. Wactor had played Brando Corbin in more than 160 episodes of the soap opera \u201cGeneral Hospital,\u201d according to his IMDB<\/a> page. He also appeared in episodes of \u201cWestworld,\u201d \u201cThe OA\u201d and \u201cStation 19.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement on social media<\/a>, a page for \u201cGeneral Hospital\u201d said the show\u2019s cast and crew were \u201cheartbroken to hear of Johnny Wactor\u2019s untimely passing.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of Mr. Wactor\u2019s co-stars from the show posted tributes on social media, including Kirsten Storms, who played the character Maxie Jones. Ms. Storms wrote in an Instagram post<\/a>, \u201cI just cannot believe that his life was stolen from him the way it was.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n There has been a jump in the number of thefts of catalytic converters, or \u201ccats\u201d for short, in recent years. These critical emission-control devices are valuable because they contain rare metals, like palladium and rhodium, that can be extracted and resold. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n