New York Times games engineering director killed in California; in-laws arrested
An engineering director for The New York Times’ games division was shot and killed in Dublin, California, according to police and the newspaper. His parents-in-law, both 77, were arrested on suspicion of murder.
The shooting was reported at about 3:08 p.m. on Saturday at the Dublin Sports Grounds, at 6700 Dublin Boulevard, according to the Dublin Police Services. A police sergeant driving nearby saw a man lying in the parking lot and stopped as dispatchers began receiving 911 calls.
Officers found Jonathan McKinsey, 40, of Dublin, with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
With help from witnesses, officers located and detained two suspects who had remained nearby. Police identified them as McKinsey’s parents-in-law, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, a married couple from Dublin, both aged 77. They were arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into Santa Rita Jail.
A New York Times spokesman confirmed that McKinsey was director of engineering for the newspaper’s games department. He joined the company in 2023 after working at technology companies including Splunk, Coursera and Oracle, the newspaper reported, citing his LinkedIn profile.
Police have not identified a motive. The Times reported that McKinsey and his wife, Candice Jang, were living separately and had each sought a domestic violence restraining order against the other in Alameda County last year.
In his December 2025 filing, McKinsey, a transgender man, accused his wife and in-laws of abusing him because of his identity, according to the newspaper.
The Times reported that McKinsey pleaded not guilty last year to two misdemeanor child abuse charges. Police have not said whether the shooting was connected to any of the allegations described in the court records.
Detectives are continuing to examine evidence to determine what led to the killing. Police said there are no outstanding suspects and no known threat to public safety.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
