Key Takeaways
- Two masked shooters allegedly killed New York Times engineering director Jonathan McKinsey, 40, outside the Dublin Sports Grounds in California.
- Minutes later, police arrested McKinsey’s in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, and booked them on suspicion of murder.
- The killing followed a contentious custody battle between McKinsey and his wife, Candice Jang, amid abuse allegations that he denied.
A New York Times staffer was reportedly been shot to death in the parking lot of a sports complex, and the two suspects arrested minutes later were his wife's parents.
On Saturday (Sept. 26), Jonathan McKinsey, 40, an engineering director for the newspaper, was approached by two masked people outside the Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, shortly after 3 p.m., according to the New York Post.
Multiple witnesses said the shooters took turns unloading bullets into McKinsey, who was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the lot.
"I saw the guy drop to the floor. Head bloody and chest bloody," witness Assad Razawi told ABC7 Los Angeles.
Razawi’s daughter, Mal, also told the news station that her father saw the alleged assailants “casually walk away from the shooting.”
A Dublin police sergeant happened to be driving near the complex and spotted McKinsey on the ground as 911 calls came in at the same time. Responding officers located a black sedan at a nearby intersection and took two people into custody.
Although first responders attempted aid, McKinsey died at the scene.
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were booked into Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder. Per The Post, the charges against them include first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, dangerously firing a gun, and child endangerment.
McKinsey had been at the Times since early 2023 and was promoted to director of engineering for games player experience in late 2025. He previously worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Oracle, Coursera, and Splunk.
He and his wife, Candice Jang, the daughter of the two suspects, had been embroiled in a child custody battle.
Alameda County prosecutors charged McKinsey in 2025 with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse after Jang reported him to the police, claiming he had hit their 6-year-old son “with an open palm,” per The Post. McKinsey reportedly intended to complete a mental health program so the charges would be dismissed.
According to documents reviewed by The Post, Jang told investigators about a 2018 domestic violence incident where he allegedly bruised her arm. During a visit to their home, police reportedly found their child alone in a room upstairs while McKinsey was out shopping.
Per NBC News, Jang was granted a temporary restraining order against her husband. McKinsey filed for divorce in December, and a hearing had been set for next month.
