New York Times games engineer killed by in-laws in Dublin: police

DUBLIN, Calif. – The 40-year-old man killed near a Dublin park, allegedly by his in-laws – who witnesses said took turns shooting at him – was a New York Times games engineer who had previously been charged with child abuse. 

The New York Times confirmed to KTVU that McKinsey was the head engineer of the “Games Player Experience.” 

New York Times engineer

What we know:

Jonathan McKinsey’s LinkedIn profile, confirmed by the New York Times. 

McKinsey was shot to death on Saturday in the parking lot of Dublin Sports Grounds – a popular park – and his 77-year-old in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen — were arrested shortly after. 

The couple is set to be arraigned on Wednesday, likely on first-degree murder charges, jail records indicate. Records also show they were arrested on suspicion of a willful discharge of a firearm and child abuse. The child abuse allegation was not immediately spelled out in the records. 

The couple is being held without bail. 

Efforts to reach the couple on Monday or determine if they had an attorney were not immediately successful.

McKinsely’s LinkedIn page also states that he earned a master’s in computer science at UC Berkeley, and a bachelor’s of science from Georgia Institute of Technology. Before the New York Times, his LinkedIn Profile stated he had been an engineering manager at Splunk. 

Prior charges

Dig deeper:

Alameda County court records show that McKinsey was charged in 2025 with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse.

His wife reported that her 6-year-old son had been struck in the face with an open hand by her husband, identified as McKinsey, according to a probable cause statement. 

She also reported a domestic violence incident from 2018, where McKinsey allegedly grabbed her left arm and left a bruise.

That same day, deputies went to McKinsey’s home and found a 2-year-old girl upstairs who had been left without supervision, according to a probable cause statement. Deputies said that McKinsey had left the child alone for more than an hour when he went shopping, the statement said. 

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that he had pleaded not guilty to those charges and had been ordered to take 12 parenting classes. 

SFGate reported that McKinsey’s wife sought a restraining order against him in 2025, and he sought one against her three months later. 

Questions remain

What we don’t know:

Dublin police take a man into custody after Jonathan McKinsley killed in park. Sept. 26, 2026 Photo: Tracy A. 

It’s not clear if McKinsey’s past was directly related to his death. 

What prompted his in-laws to shoot him on this particular weekend afternoon has not been revealed.

The elderly in-laws were taken into custody shortly after the shooting. A woman named Tracy A. shared a photo of the elderly husband being handcuffed in the park. 

Witnesses were shocked.

“There were kids and families, just like you see now,” said Kevin Stein of Dublin. “This parking lot is full on a Saturday. I mean this place is busy on a Saturday. It’s incredible that they’d just do that right in front of everybody.”

The city of Dublin issued a statement about how “deeply saddened” they are, stating that “incidents like this are rare in our community. Dublin remains a safe place to live, work, and visit.”