Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, were charged Wednesday with murder in the shooting death of their son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, 40, a games engineering director at The New York Times. Prosecutors allege the killing was carried out by “lying in wait,” a special-circumstance charge indicating an ambush.
The shooting happened at the Dublin Sports Grounds in Alameda County, California. Several 911 callers reported gunfire before a Dublin Police Services sergeant arrived and found McKinsey lying face up with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses directed officers to a black Honda Civic leaving the parking lot, prompting a high-risk traffic stop nearby. Chen was driving and allegedly had a firearm in her possession when detained; Zhang was in the passenger seat. Three witnesses identified the couple as the shooters, and surveillance video allegedly shows them opening fire “in concert” on McKinsey in a crowded park parking lot, with children nearby.
Police described the shooting as carried out with “blatant disregard for public safety.” After her arrest, Chen was taken to headquarters, where she invoked her Miranda rights. Zhang, however, allegedly spoke with investigators.
“During a later interview [with] Zhang, he admitted to shooting the victim,” court documents state.
Police later searched the Honda and recovered a second firearm that Zhang allegedly admitted using in the shooting.
The criminal complaint alleges the killing involved “great violence” and acts showing a “high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness,” and that both defendants were armed or used a weapon.
A Bitter Family Dispute
McKinsey’s death came in the midst of a contentious divorce and custody battle with Chen and Zhang’s daughter, Candice Jang. He had accused Jang and her parents of years of abuse in court filings before he was killed, and The New York Times reported that some of the alleged abuse stemmed from his gender identity as a transgender man.
According to The Mercury News, McKinsey accused Chen of directing anti-LGBTQ slurs at him and one of his children, and alleged that Zhang struck him in the chest while he was recovering from double mastectomy surgery. Jang made competing allegations of domestic violence and child abuse against McKinsey, which he disputed.
Court dockets reviewed show McKinsey and Jang were engaged in multiple overlapping legal disputes at the time of his death, including competing domestic violence restraining order requests, a child custody case and a pending divorce. Jang sought a restraining order against McKinsey in October 2025; McKinsey filed his own request two months later. The competing matters were headed toward a three-day hearing in December.
It is not yet known whether the suspects have retained attorneys. McKinsey’s divorce attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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