Who Was Jonathan McKinsey? NYT Tech Executive Killed After In-Laws Arrive in Masks and Take Turns to Shoot Him in Parking Lot

A tech executive who helped develop the New York Times’ popular games was allegedly shot and killed in broad daylight by his elderly parents-in-law, according to police. Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, allegedly shot and killed their son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, 40, in a parking lot at 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 hit by multiple bullets and died instantly at the scene, police said. Witnesses reportedly saw two masked gunmen approach him in the parking lot before taking turns firing a barrage of shots at the engineer.

Killed in No Time

The pair then allegedly walked away “calmly,” according to the New York Post. Images showed the suspects being taken into custody alongside a road after stunned witnesses reportedly alerted a nearby police sergeant.

Authorities have not revealed a possible motive for the broad daylight shooting. Zhang and Chen were booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail, where they are being held without bail.

The couple faces multiple charges, including murder, felony conspiracy, child endangerment and illegally and dangerously discharging a firearm.

McKinsey was charged last year with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse by prosecutors in Alameda County, according to court records cited by the San Francisco Chronicle.

A probable cause declaration mentioned that a woman told police her husband, identified as McKinsey, had allegedly slapped her six-year-old son in the face with an open hand. She also described an earlier alleged domestic violence incident from 2018, claiming McKinsey had grabbed her left arm hard enough to leave a bruise.

Deputies responding to that incident reportedly arrived at McKinsey’s home and found his two-year-old child alone in an upstairs bedroom while McKinsey had gone shopping.

McKinsey pleaded not guilty to the allegations in both cases and was released on bail under the condition that he complete 12 parenting classes.

Police Trying to Find Link

Authorities have not indicated whether they believe either of those previous allegations was connected to Saturday’s fatal shooting. The tech executive was confronted in the parking lot of a Dublin Sports Grounds store at around 3 p.m.

Witness Assad Razawi told ABC7 that he heard several gunshots coming from across the parking lot before seeing McKinsey collapse.

“(His) head and chest were bloody,” Razawi said.

A witness also said they saw a man and a woman walking side by side before casually leaving the area shortly after the shooting. Police said a sergeant driving nearby spotted McKinsey lying on the ground, prompting officers to rush to the parking lot.

Razawi told the San Francisco Chronicle that witnesses reported seeing the two suspects calmly leave the scene before police located them in a black sedan at a nearby intersection.

Authorities have not revealed what prompted the shooting but confirmed that the suspects are McKinsey’s in-laws.

McKinsey had recently moved out of the house where he lived with his wife and their three children, a neighbor told the Chronicle. Another neighbor said a detective came to her door Saturday night, several hours after McKinsey was fatally shot, asking questions about the family.

McKinsey had worked as the company’s head of games since 2023, a New York Times spokesperson confirmed to the New York Post. Before taking charge of the Times’ games platform, McKinsey served as an engineering manager at Splunk. He had also studied at UC Berkeley.