A New York Times technology executive known for his work on the publication’s popular games was allegedly killed in a daylight shooting carried out by his elderly parents-in-law, authorities say.
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, are accused of shooting their 40-year-old son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, in a parking lot near Dublin Sports Grounds in Dublin, California, on Saturday.
McKinsey, who had served as the New York Times’ head of engineering for games player experience since 2023, was struck by multiple bullets and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Witnesses told investigators that two masked attackers approached McKinsey and fired repeatedly, taking turns shooting before walking away from the parking lot in what witnesses described as a calm manner, according to the New York Post.
Images reportedly showed the suspects being detained beside a roadway after shaken witnesses alerted a nearby police sergeant and helped direct officers toward them.
Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive in the broad daylight killing. Zhang and Chen were booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail, where they are being held without bail.
The pair face charges including murder, felony conspiracy, child endangerment and the dangerous discharge of a firearm.
Police say Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, allegedly shot their son-in-law, New York Times games executive Jonathan McKinsey, during a daylight attack in the Bay Area on Saturday
Jonathan McKinsey, 40, the New York Times’ head of engineering for games, died after being shot in a California parking lot on Saturday
The San Francisco Chronicle, citing court records, reported that McKinsey was charged last year with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse in Alameda County.
A probable cause statement said a woman told police that her husband, whom authorities identified as McKinsey, had struck her six-year-old son in the face with an open hand.
She also described an earlier alleged domestic violence incident from 2018, claiming that McKinsey had grabbed her left arm and left her with bruising.
When deputies responded to McKinsey’s home in connection with that incident, they allegedly found a two-year-old child alone in an upstairs bedroom while McKinsey had gone shopping.
McKinsey denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty in both cases. He was released on bail under an order to complete 12 parenting classes.
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Investigators have not indicated whether those previous allegations played any role in Saturday’s fatal shooting. The attack occurred at about 3 p.m., after McKinsey was confronted in a parking lot near a store at Dublin Sports Grounds.
Witness Assad Razawi told ABC7 that he heard a series of gunshots from across the lot and then saw McKinsey collapse.
“His head and chest were bloody,” Razawi said while describing the aftermath.
McKinsey had led engineering for games player experience at the New York Times since 2023
Witnesses said the suspects walked away calmly before police tracked them to a black sedan, pictured above, at a nearby intersection
McKinsey’s daughter, Mal, said witnesses then saw a man and a woman walking side by side and casually leaving the area moments after the shooting.
A police sergeant who was driving nearby saw McKinsey laying on the ground, police said, and officers were scrambled to the parking lot.
Razawi told the San Francisco Chronicle that other witnesses saw two shooters calmly walking away, and they were found in a black sedan at a nearby intersection.
Authorities have not said what led up to the shooting, but have confirmed that the suspects are McKinsey’s in-laws.
A neighbor of the McKinsey family told the Chronicle that Jonathan had recently moved out of the home he shared with his wife and three children.
Another neighbor said a detective had knocked on her door asking about the family on Saturday night, hours after McKinsey was shot dead.
A spokesperson for the New York Times confirmed to the New York Post that McKinsey had been employed as head of games at the company since 2023.
Before helming the Times’ games platform, McKinsey was engineering manager at Splunk, and he had previously studied at UC Berkeley.
Zhang and Chen are being held in jail without bail, and their arraignment has been scheduled for Wednesday.
