Ochre House Theatre Playwright Matthew Posey Shot Outside of Cold Beer Company

Matthew Posey, playwright and founder of Ochre House Theatre, was shot twice late Monday after getting into his car outside of Cold Beer Co. in Deep Ellum, just a short walk from his theater in Exposition Park. He was taken by ambulance to Baylor Hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

“Famous, amazing playwright and dear friend to us all was brutally shot tonight at Cold Beer Company,” Laure E. Ostteen posted to a public Facebook group early Tuesday morning. “Bring all positive thoughts to Matthew Posey. We love you, Matt. The cement that holds our community together. Love love love. Perps still on the loose.”

According to a report by Dallas police, at about 11:17 p.m. Monday, Posey and a witness were leaving a building at 3600 Main St. and had just gotten into a car when the driver side door was opened and, “a black male suspect fired several rounds into the vehicle,” striking Posey twice.

Ostteen’s post was shared to the Deep Ellum Community Watch group, where multiple people who said they live in the neighborhood reported hearing the shots.

The gunman has not been arrested.

At 2:48 a.m. Justin Locklear, artist in residence at Ochre House, commented on Ostteen’s post about the incident that Posey was in good spirits, about to go to into surgery and stable. In the thread, Ginger Berry, a photographer who frequently works with Ochre House, was named as the passenger and witness.

Update: This afternoon Ralph Hodges, Posey's nephew, made a statement to the Observer on behalf of Posey's family.

"We appreciate all of your prayers and support for Matthew and our family. While this is a difficult time for us we want you to know that Matthew is recovering well and is scheduled to be moved from the intensive care unit," he said. "Our family has faith in the Dallas Police Department to find out who did this and bring them to justice. We would like to ask that you respect our request for privacy at this time."

This shooting comes on the heels of another and violent assault in the local theater community. Derek Whitener, the director of Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch, was attacked by two masked men wielding a pipe outside the Haskell Avenue Target on Jan. 14. He was also taken to Baylor where he was treated for a fractured skull.

In the last year there has been a crime bump in Deep Ellum, which has prompted Dallas Police Department to send out extra police patrols. In a span of two weeks in September, there were two robberies and a sexual assault in the neighborhood.

“DPD is very concerned about the Deep Ellum area, along with other entertainment districts,” Deputy Police Chief Lonzo Anderson said in September. “We want entertainment districts to feel safe.”