New York Times Tech Executive Fatally Shot by In-Laws; Past Child Abuse Charges Revealed

Jonathan McKinsey, a technology executive at The New York Times, was fatally shot on Saturday in Dublin, California. Police have identified his elderly in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, as the suspects in the shooting, which occurred in the parking lot of the Dublin Sports Grounds. McKinsey, 40, was the director of engineering for games player experience at the newspaper.

Court records obtained by The Post reveal that McKinsey had been charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse in 2025 by Alameda prosecutors. According to the court documents, his wife, Candice Jang, reported that McKinsey had struck their six-year-old son in the face. Jang also informed investigators of a 2018 domestic violence incident in which McKinsey allegedly bruised her arm.

Authorities found McKinsey's two-year-old child alone in an upstairs room when they responded to the family's home. McKinsey pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on the condition that he complete parenting classes.

A spokesperson for The New York Times confirmed McKinsey's employment, stating he had been with the newspaper since 2023. He initially joined as a senior engineering manager for the games platform, contributing to titles like Connections. Later, he transitioned to the games player experience team and eventually became director of engineering for that division, leading a team of 25 people.

Witnesses at the scene reported seeing two masked assailants approach McKinsey in the parking lot and fire multiple shots before they were apprehended by a responding police officer. Zhang and Chen were booked into the Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder, along with charges of felony conspiracy, firearm discharge, and child endangerment.

McKinsey's career in technology spanned nearly two decades, including roles at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Oracle. He also held a position in product strategy at Coursera before moving into engineering management roles at UKG and Splunk. He earned his Master’s in Computer Science from UC Berkeley in 2015.