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A targeted shooting in broad daylight claimed the life of Jonathan McKinsey.
The New York Times engineer was a transgender man who had spent the past year locked into a bitter custody battle with his estranged wife.
Authorities almost immediately arrested his 77-year-old in-laws, who were walking away from the scene.
Police have still not identified a motive for the killing, but the backstory suggests a series of possibilities.
A targeted shooting in broad daylight ended Jonathan McKinsey’s life
On Saturday, September 26, Jonathan McKinsey was shot in broad daylight at a Dublin, California sports complex, the Mercury News reports.
He was only 40 years old.
Jonathan was a games engineer who worked for the New York Times.
He had also spent the past year locked in a bitter custody dispute with his estranged wife.
Both had accused the other of abuse. Jonathan was transgender. And police have arrested Jonathan’s elderly in-laws for the shooting.
Authorities have not announced a motive in Jonathan’s shooting death.
They have, however, said that he was deliberately targeted.
Shortly after 3 PM on Saturday, police arrested his in-laws Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both of whom are 77.
They were walking away from the scene.
The two are being held without bail on suspicion of murder (and other felonies) at Santa Rita Jail. Their arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30.
Everything about this case is upsetting, including the background
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Jonathan McKinsey was seen lying behind a white SUV with its rear hatch open. Presumably, he was either loading or unloading the vehicle at the time of his murder.
Stunned bystanders stood nearby.
It sounds like the investigation is still in its early stages, as investigators had not yet presented the case to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office on the following Monday.
Thus far, there is no indication that Candice Jang, Jonathan’s ex-wife, had any involvement in the shooting.
She and Jonathan had spent the bulk of the past year embroiled in a heated custody battle, one that included mutual allegations of abuse and mutual restraining orders.
In December 2025, Jonathan filed for divorce against Candice Jang after well over a decade of marriage.
Candice’s restraining order accused him of having hurt her arm by grabbing her and of having slapped one of their children. The allegations resulted in a criminal investigation into Jonathan, though that case is now moot.
Jonathan’s restraining order accused Candice of having attacked him with a frying pan, of having yanked medical tubes out of his body as he recovered from surgery related to his transition in 2010, and of being verbally abusive towards their children.
Many allegations came out regarding his alleged shooters, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, during the divorce, including allegations of rancid homophobia and transphobia.
This is a horrible and extremely upsetting case. And it sounds like, whether one or both or neither parent was telling the truth, the former couple’s children have suffered the most.
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