Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old executive at The New York Times, was fatally shot by his 76-year-old in-laws in a parking lot in Dublin, California, authorities reported. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon in the Bay Area suburb, where McKinsey was found with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene.

Dublin Police Services (DPS) stated that officers discovered McKinsey around 3 p.m. at the site. Within minutes, they apprehended two suspects identified as Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77-year-old residents of Dublin and McKinsey’s parents-in-law. The couple was arrested on suspicion of murder.

A witness told a local television affiliate that the elderly couple took turns shooting McKinsey. The witness also noted that families and children were present nearby during the shooting.

McKinsey had been employed by The New York Times since January 2023 as director of engineering for its games department and was based in the Bay Area, according to a spokesperson for the newspaper.

Public records and court documents reveal a troubled family background. McKinsey, who transitioned from female to male in 2010, had been married to Candice Jang since 2014. The couple had three children, aged three, five, and seven. Both McKinsey and Jang had accused each other of domestic violence and sought restraining orders against one another in the previous year. Jang had also filed for divorce.

In filings, McKinsey alleged abuse by his in-laws related to his gender identity and sought a restraining order against them. Court records show that McKinsey pleaded not guilty last year to two misdemeanor charges of child abuse, which stemmed from an incident in which he allegedly struck his six-year-old son. Police reports indicate officers found a two-year-old child alone in the home when they arrived, and McKinsey had reportedly left the younger child unattended for over an hour while shopping. McKinsey denied the allegations, asserting that he was framed by his wife and accusing her of neglecting the children.

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting and the broader family dynamics. Zhang and Chen remain in custody pending further legal proceedings.