On 26 September, 40-year-old Jonathan McKinsey — director of engineering at New York Times Games — was shot dead in Dublin, California. The police have arrested his 77-year-old father-in-law, Shaoyong Zhang, and mother-in-law, Shili Chen, on suspicion of murder. Investigators have not publicly disclosed the motive for the attack; both are currently in custody.
Briefly about the main points
- McKinsey was found with gunshot wounds in the car park of the sports centre.
- The relatives of the deceased, who are suspected of involvement, were arrested near the scene of the shooting.
- Eyewitnesses told the media about two masked attackers.
- The family went to court over their divorce and custody of their three children.
- The police did not link the domestic dispute to the motive for the attack.
How the police found the victim and arrested the suspects
At around 15:08, a sergeant driving past the Dublin Sports Grounds spotted a man in the car park. At the same time, dispatchers were receiving numerous 911 calls about shooting.
Law enforcement officers discovered McKinsey with multiple gunshot wounds, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Witnesses helped the police locate two people who were nearby. They were taken to Santa Rita Jail.
In its initial statement, Dublin Police Services said that all known suspects were in custody and that there was no immediate threat to the public.
The eyewitness account of how the shooting unfolded has not been confirmed by the police
The Independent, citing eyewitnesses, reported that the two attackers were wearing masks. According to witnesses, the man opened fire first, handed the gun to the woman, and she then fired as well.
The official police statement does not specify who exactly fired the weapon or in what sequence. The shooting took place during the day in a public place; a local resident Kevin Stein He pointed out that the complex is usually very busy on Saturdays.
A family legal dispute formed the backdrop to the case
The Associated Press reported that McKinsey was going through a divorce Candice Jung, whilst the parties were in dispute over the custody of three children. The court documents also contain mutual allegations of domestic violence and a protection order.
Jang had previously accused her husband of child abuse. He denied these allegations, whilst claiming that he had been subjected to violence by his wife and that there had been conflicts with her parents. These statements represent the parties’ positions in the court case, rather than established facts regarding the assault.
The police have not stated that a divorce, a dispute over the children or other family conflicts were the motive for the murder.
My time at The New York Times and what followed
The New York Times has confirmed that McKinsey joined the company in 2023. He headed up the engineering team at NYT Games, which develops and supports the publication’s gaming products.
Zhang and Chen were due to appear in court on 30 September. According to publicly available prison records, the case also involved allegations of conspiracy, reckless discharge of a firearm and endangering a child. These are procedural allegations, not a court-established conviction.
Investigators are continuing to gather evidence and establish the circumstances of the murder.
