New York Times tech boss shot dead in California; in-laws held

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was found at the Dublin Sports Grounds after the shooting at about 3pm, with the ‘New York Post’ reporting that his in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were subsequently booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail. — Screengrab from social media

By Malay Mail

First Published: Tuesday, 29 Sep 2026 1:14 PM MYT

DUBLIN, Sept 29 — A New York Times technology executive was shot dead at a California sports complex on Saturday, with his wife’s parents arrested in connection with the killing.

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was found at the Dublin Sports Grounds after the shooting at about 3pm, with the New York Post reporting that his in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were subsequently booked into Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail.

A New York Times spokesman confirmed McKinsey was the victim and said he had been with the newspaper since 2023.

The couple are being held on suspicion of murder, while Alameda County Sheriff’s Office booking records list additional allegations including first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, unlawfully firing a gun and child endangerment involving a risk of serious injury or death.

McKinsey was married to Zhang and Chen’s daughter, Candice Jang, while the couple are based in the Dublin area and also have links to Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to the Post.

Zhang is listed in jail records as 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds, while Chen is listed as 5 feet 2 inches and 110 pounds.

McKinsey joined The New York Times in 2023 after almost two decades in the technology industry, having previously held positions at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle, Coursera, UKG and Splunk.

At the Times, he initially worked as a senior engineering manager for the games platform before moving into games player experience.

He was promoted to director of engineering for games player experience in late 2025, leading a 25-member team working on features and monetisation for the newspaper’s puzzle games.

McKinsey earned a master’s degree in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2015.

A former Berkeley colleague, Nathan Wu, who said on LinkedIn that he had worked at the university, paid tribute to McKinsey on Sunday, writing: “Rip buddy.”