The 37-year-old was shot and killed in downtown Los Angeles May 25
Organizers plan march calling for public safety after actor Johnny Wactor's murder
Grant Wactor, brother of slain actor Johnny Wactor, and Micah Parker, who is helping organize a Los Angeles rally in Wactor's honor, discuss the crime wave in the city and how officials need to step in to fix the problem.
Friends and family of Johnny Wactor held a press conference in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday at the site of his murder, seeking justice for the late actor, and the district attorney's office says there are leads in the case.
Micha Powers, a friend and fellow actor, led the proceedings, accompanied by Wactor’s brother Grant, who flew in from South Carolina.
"Back home we're all hurting, obviously,'' Grant told the gathered crowd. according to the Los Angeles Times. "We're doing everything we can to try to stay busy to try to keep this in the forefront. So, thank you all for being here and helping us keep this out there, so we can continue to press this issue. The main thing is just it was a senseless act of violence. It was something that none of us expected. He was 37 years old. He would be 38 in August. And it hurts.
"We want something to be done. Me and my family, we don't live here. But Johnny's friends — Johnny has roots here. Johnny still has roots here and will continue to have roots here. So, we want it to be a safer city for them. ... We want it sooner rather than later. We appreciate all the work that's being done to find and capture all these people, but we hope that any resources that [are] available continue to be [used]."
Grant Wactor, left, the brother of actor Johnny Wactor, joins a rally over the shooting death of the actor at the site where he was killed. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Wactor’s mother Scarlett was unable to attend the press conference and rally but spoke with Fox News Digital by phone about watching a livestream.
"I was very proud of him, super proud of him," Scarlett said of Grant’s appearance.
Scarlett also said she was "very touched and moved" that Bryan Barkley, the security guard who was with Wactor on the night Wactor died, was in attendance. She said she’s spoken with him personally and thanked him for trying to save her son’s life.
At the press conference, Barkley spoke briefly, initially commenting that the street had no lights and anyone who worked at the bar or other business could also have been a victim.
Supporters of the #JusticeforJohnny movement marched to City Hall Wednesday. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In a press release obtained by Fox News Digital, the LAPD said Wactor was "confronted by three individuals" in the early hours of May 25. Wactor had just finished up a bartending shift when he noticed the trio had his car "raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter." Wactor was shot and killed by one of the three.
"Los Angeles Police Department, Central Area officers responded to a radio call of an Assault with a Deadly Weapon-Shooting in the 1200 block of Hope Street," according to the release. "Upon officers’ arrival they discovered the victim, identified as 37-year-old John William Wactor, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Officers began to render aid to the victim and requested the response of emergency medical services."
He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Wactor’s mother is appreciative of the ongoing efforts for change led by her son’s friends who live in Los Angeles.
Wactor was shot and killed in the early hours of May 25 by three individuals attempting to steal the catalytic converter from his car. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
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"It has been a team of people that have been doing things and keeping this going in the forefront," she said. "They’re doing a fantastic job. … I said, ‘They want us to be quiet and go away, and I just don’t think we should.’"
Scarlett will meet Micha and other friends this week at Wactor's funeral scheduled for Saturday in Summerville, South Carolina.
Anita Joy, the co-worker Wactor protected in his final moments, will be attending the funeral and meeting Scarlett for the first time.
"I told Anita that ‘God must have big plans for her,’ and then I said, ‘Johnny’s death has got to be bigger than all that,'" Scarlett said. "So, for it to make a change, like what we’re asking the city to do and change, that would at least be something."
Wactor stepped in front of co-worker Anita Joy just before he was shot. His mother said she's spoken with Joy, saying, "God must have big plans for her." (Getty/Anita Joy Instagram)
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Joseph Iniguez, the district attorney's chief deputy, said at the press conference there were no specific updates on the case but did say investigators have "a number of leads" and the investigation is "very active."
"They assure me that they feel good about what they’re doing," Scarlett said. "To me, it’s hopeful, it’s promising. It is a slow process, which I don’t like, but anywhere you go it’s going to be like that."
Kevin de Leon, a councilmember from the 14th District in Los Angeles, also spoke at the press conference and delivered a eulogy for Wactor at the close of a city hall meeting. De Leon and Scarlett have spoken about the case over the past several weeks, though she said he can’t divulge any more information to her.
"He feels everything is going in the right direction, so I’m trusting that," she said. "It’s not even my city, and I pray things get better."
Joseph Iniguez, the district attorney's chief deputy, said at a press conference there were no specific updates in the murder of Johnny Wactor (pictured), but he did say investigators have "a number of leads" and the investigation is "very active." (Scott Kirkland/ABC via Getty Images)
As the investigation continues and the #JusticeforJohnny movement grows, Scarlett is asking "people to continue to pray."
"I really do think justice is coming. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later. And I think God’s help is what they’re going to need. Because it sounds like there’s some really weak laws and help for the police department, unfortunately. I feel for them."
