Jonathan McKinsey, New York Times executive, fatally shot in California as in-laws arrested for killing

A New York Times engineering executive was fatally shot in broad daylight at a California sports complex, with police arresting his parents-in-law within minutes of the killing.

Jonathan McKinsey shot dead by in-laws

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, on Saturday afternoon, 26 September. A Dublin police sergeant was driving near the complex at around 3.08pm when he saw a man lying on the ground and stopped to investigate.

At roughly the same time, police dispatchers began receiving multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting.

Officers and emergency medical personnel responded, but McKinsey was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Dublin Police Services.

Who has been arrested?

Police identified the suspects as Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77 and residents of Dublin. The married couple are McKinsey’s parents-in-law.

Authorities said witnesses helped officers locate the pair, who had remained nearby. They were detained within minutes and booked into Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder. Police said there were no outstanding suspects and no known threat to public safety.

The circumstances that led to the shooting remain under investigation. Police have not announced a possible motive.

Some witness accounts reported by local media described the suspects allegedly shooting McKinsey before leaving the area, but police have not publicly confirmed the details of who fired the shots or how the shooting unfolded. Investigators are continuing to examine the evidence.

McKinsey’s New York Times career

McKinsey worked for The New York Times from January 2023 and was director of engineering for New York Times Games, the company confirmed to several outlets.

His professional background included engineering roles at Oracle, Coursera, Ultimate Kronos Group and Splunk. He also had an academic connection to computer science, having earned a bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

His LinkedIn profile also indicated that he had taught and managed computer science courses part-time at Berkeley and Georgia Tech.

The shooting occurred as McKinsey was involved in a divorce and related family court proceedings. According to court records reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle and other outlets, his wife had sought a domestic violence prevention order against him in October 2025. McKinsey later sought a restraining order against his wife and filed for divorce in December.

He had also pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor child abuse charges filed in 2025. Those allegations and the ongoing family court disputes have been reported in connection with the case, but authorities have not said that they established a motive for the killing.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the investigation. Zhang and Chen remain accused of the killing, and the allegations against them have not been proven in court.