New York Times Executive Killed in California Shooting

Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old New York Times executive, was fatally shot in a car park outside the Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, according to police. McKinsey was the newspaper’s director of engineering for games player experience. Police found him with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced him dead at the scene. The New York Times confirmed his death. McKinsey’s parents-in-law, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were arrested and are facing multiple charges, including first-degree murder. They also face charges of felony conspiracy, wilful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, and child endangerment. The article says it was unclear whether they had legal representation and that they were due to appear in court on Wednesday to formally face the charges. They are being held at Santa Rita jail. Witnesses told KGO-TV they heard a burst of gunfire. One witness, Assad Razawi, described seeing the victim on the ground with bloody injuries to his head and chest. Razawi’s daughter said her father saw the couple walk together and then casually leave the scene. A passing police officer arrested the pair several minutes later; witnesses said they had remained nearby after the shooting. Police have not disclosed a motive. The report gives differing time references for when McKinsey was found: it says he was found on Saturday afternoon, and later states that his body was found at 15:00 (23:00 GMT) on Thursday afternoon.

The article reports that Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old gaming engineer for The New York Times, was shot and killed on Saturday afternoon in the car park of a sports complex in Dublin, California, east of San Francisco. Authorities said the suspects were his elderly in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 76 and residents of Dublin. Police arrested them on suspicion of murder and other charges. They were still near the scene when a police sergeant driving nearby found McKinsey on the ground; witnesses were calling 911 and identifying the couple, according to Dublin Police Services. The report also describes a family dispute surrounding the killing. Court documents indicate McKinsey had been involved in a bitter divorce and custody dispute with the suspects’ daughter, Candice Jang. The article presents this as relevant background but does not establish a motive or say whether the dispute was connected to the shooting. Zhang and Chen were expected to appear in court on Wednesday morning. At the time of publication, it was unclear whether either had obtained legal representation, and phone numbers listed for Jang were disconnected. The article is a brief Associated Press news report, published on September 29, 2026, and updated later that day. It provides the identities, ages, and locations of the victim and suspects, along with a concise account of the reported scene and the arrests. It does not provide further details about the shooting, the charges beyond suspicion of murder and other offenses, or the status of the custody case.

Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old director of engineering for The New York Times’ games department, was shot and killed on September 26 in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California. Police arrested his in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 76, on suspicion of murder and other charges. They are the parents of McKinsey’s wife, Candice Jang. Investigators have not publicly identified a motive, and the case remains under investigation. The article describes a troubled marriage and conflicting allegations made in court filings. McKinsey and Jang lived separately and each sought a domestic-violence restraining order against the other in 2025. Jang accused McKinsey of striking their six-year-old child and leaving their two-year-old alone at home. He was charged with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse, pleaded not guilty, and was released on the condition that he complete parenting classes. McKinsey, a transgender man, alleged in his own filing that Jang and her parents abused him because of his identity. He described alleged hostile remarks about him and one of his sons, and said his father-in-law had punched him while he was recovering from surgery. He also accused Jang of harming and neglecting the children, threatening him, and physically assaulting him on several occasions. McKinsey said he believed he had been framed in the incident involving their younger child and feared for the children’s safety. He filed for divorce in December 2025. A witness said he heard several gunshots, then saw a man fall and a man and woman walk away. Police arriving at the scene identified Zhang and Chen nearby and arrested them. They also face allegations involving negligent firearm discharge, conspiracy, and child endangerment. Their arraignment was scheduled for September 30; the article said it was unclear whether they had lawyers.

Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old transgender executive who directed engineering for The New York Times Games and Player Experience, was shot and killed at Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, shortly after 3 p.m. on a Saturday. Witnesses reportedly saw his in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, take turns shooting him and then walk away. Police arrested the couple near the scene and booked them into Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder and other charges. Authorities have not publicly established a motive; the article notes that McKinsey’s gender identity has not been identified by police as a motive.