A 77-year-old couple allegedly took turns shooting their son-in-law in a Bay Area park parking lot, and witnesses say they didn’t go far

A 77-year-old couple has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly shooting and killing their son-in-law in a busy parking lot at the Dublin Sports Grounds in California. The victim, 40-year-old Jonathan McKinsey, was found by a police officer on Saturday with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

As reported by The Guardian, witnesses said the two suspects, identified as Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, were wearing masks and took turns shooting McKinsey. The couple reportedly remained in the area, where they were subsequently arrested.

Dublin is a small city located about 35 miles east of San Francisco. Kevin Stein, a local resident who was at the park, told KTVU that the parking lot is full on a Saturday, adding, “It’s incredible that they’d just do that right in front of everybody.”

The couple and their son-in-law had a tangled legal history

McKinsey had served as the head of engineering for the New York Times games department for nearly four years. He earned a master’s degree in computer science from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and previously worked as an engineering manager at Splunk.

Alameda County court records indicate that McKinsey and his wife had been involved in a divorce and custody battle after 14 years of marriage. They shared three children together, and records show his wife sought a restraining order against him in 2025, while he filed for one against her three months later.

Court documents also show McKinsey was charged with two misdemeanor counts of child abuse in 2025. According to a probable cause statement, his wife alleged he struck her 6-year-old son in the face with an open hand, and she cited a 2018 incident in which she claimed he grabbed her arm, leaving a bruise.

On that same day in 2025, deputies reportedly found a 2-year-old girl left unsupervised at the home for over an hour while McKinsey had gone shopping. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and was ordered to complete 12 parenting classes. Last month, a judge reportedly granted McKinsey unsupervised public visits with his children after his wife had previously held legal and physical custody.

Zhang and Chen are being held without bail and are scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday. Officials have not released a motive, and it is not clear whether the couple has an attorney. The shooting came in the same news cycle as a Florida teen’s home shooting.

KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza suggested that defense attorneys might argue for manslaughter, claiming the couple acted in the “heat of passion” over the allegations against their son-in-law. He added that prosecutors would likely argue premeditation, noting that the couple allegedly brought a gun to the park.

The city of Dublin said in a statement that officials are saddened by the incident and that such events are rare in the community. According to city crime data, Dublin recorded one homicide per year between 2023 and 2025, while reported domestic violence incidents rose from 121 in 2024 to 131 in 2025.

The couple was arrested on suspicion of murder, willful discharge of a firearm, and child abuse, though the specifics of the child abuse allegation were not detailed in the records.