Jonathan McKinsey, a 40-year-old transgender executive at the New York Times, was shot dead in a Dublin, California car park on Saturday. His elderly in-laws, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen (both 77), have been arrested on suspicion of murder. The case has drawn attention due to court documents suggesting tensions within the family related to McKinsey's parenting decisions, specifically his acceptance of his son's wish to wear girls' dresses.

McKinsey was shot by two masked individuals who witnesses said took turns firing at him before walking away calmly. The motive remains under investigation, though a restraining order McKinsey filed in 2023 reveals that Chen had reacted hostilely when she observed his son asking to wear his sister's dresses, allegedly calling the child derogatory names. McKinsey was in the midst of a contentious divorce from his wife Candice Jang, and the family had a documented history of conflict, with both parties having filed restraining orders against each other. McKinsey had also faced child abuse charges in 2023 following an incident in which he allegedly struck his six-year-old son.