US fitness influencer Gloria Zamora and date fatally shot by estranged husband in parking lot attack

Fitness influencer Gloria Zamora and her date were fatally shot by her estranged husband before police intervened.

California fitness influencer Gloria Zamora and her dinner date, Hector Garduno, were fatally shot outside a sushi restaurant on Monday night. Police say her estranged husband, Thomas Alberto Tamayo Lizarraga, carried out the attack before being killed by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy.

Zamora, a mother of seven with over 150,000 Instagram followers, was known for sharing fitness tips and motivational content. She had recently discussed her separation from Lizarraga on her podcast HERizon. That evening, she was meeting Garduno, a father of four, for dinner when the violence occurred.

According to the Fontana Police Department, Lizarraga ambushed the couple in the restaurant’s parking lot. Officer Steve Reed confirmed the pair had been separated and were going through a divorce.  

The attack was witnessed by an off-duty deputy from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, who was driving past the scene. The deputy made a U-turn, confronted Lizarraga, and fatally shot him after witnessing the killings. The investigation is ongoing.

A GoFundMe page created by Zamora’s daughter described her mother as a “light in her community” who inspired women to recognise their strength and worth. “She always said, ‘Women can do anything they set their minds to,’ and she lived those words every day,” the tribute reads.

Garduno’s family also launched a fundraiser, remembering him as a devoted father and hardworking man “gone too soon.”