A 40-year-old California man was shot several times in the middle of a busy sports park parking lot Saturday afternoon, and police arrested his 77-year-old mother- and father-in-law within minutes.
Jonathan McKinsey of Dublin was found at the Dublin Sports Grounds shortly after 3 p.m. Sept. 26. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, Dublin Police Services said.
Police identified the two people arrested as Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77 and also from Dublin. The married couple are McKinsey’s parents-in-law.
The circumstances behind the shooting remain unexplained. Police have not announced a motive, and detectives were still examining evidence Monday to determine what led to McKinsey’s death.
McKinsey worked for The New York Times and was director of engineering for its Games operation. His LinkedIn profile lists The New York Times as his employer, while multiple outlets reported that a Times spokesperson confirmed his role with the company.
Shots Across The Street
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A Dublin Police Services sergeant was driving near the sports grounds at about 3:08 p.m. when he spotted a man lying in the parking lot and stopped. At roughly the same time, dispatchers began receiving multiple 911 calls.
Officers and emergency medical personnel converged on the park. McKinsey was found in the middle of the lot with multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses then helped officers locate two people who had remained nearby. Police said Zhang and Chen were detained within minutes.
The department credited witnesses and community members with helping officers make the arrests so quickly.
ABC7 reporter Suzanne Phan spoke with Assad Razawi, who said he was leaving Sahara Market across Dublin Boulevard when he heard roughly five or six gunshots.
Razawi told ABC7 that he saw a man collapse and then saw a man and woman walking away slowly.
His daughter, Mal Razawi, told the station that her father described the pair as casually walking together after the shooting.
Police have not publicly confirmed which of the two suspects is accused of firing a weapon or described the role they believe each person played.
Nearby Arrests
The official police account says both suspects remained nearby after the shooting. ABC7 reported that responding officers located them in a black sedan at a nearby intersection and that a witness photographed the male suspect in handcuffs.
Police arrested Zhang and Chen on suspicion of murder under California Penal Code Section 187 and booked them into Santa Rita Jail.
Alameda County inmate records reviewed by Livermore Vine listed additional booking allegations involving conspiracy, willful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, and child abuse.
Those records also showed both suspects scheduled to appear at the Dublin courthouse for arraignment at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30. Separate reporting indicated they were being held without bail.
The additional jail entries should not be confused with charges formally filed by prosecutors. As of Monday, it remained unclear from publicly available reporting whether the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office had filed a criminal complaint spelling out the final charges.
An Unanswered Why
The shooting unfolded at a public sports complex on a Saturday afternoon, with witnesses nearby and the Dublin Police Services station only a short distance away.
Court records reviewed by SFGATE show McKinsey and his wife had been involved in family-court disputes during the year before his death, including restraining-order requests, a divorce filing, and child-custody litigation. The outlet also reported that prosecutors charged McKinsey in 2025 with two misdemeanor counts involving a child.
Nothing released by Dublin Police Services links those earlier court matters to Saturday’s shooting, and the department has not identified a motive.
McKinsey joined The New York Times in 2023, according to reporting that cited the company, and later became director of engineering for Games player experience.
Zhang and Chen remained in custody Monday. Police said there are no outstanding suspects and no known continuing threat to the public while detectives investigate what led to the shooting.