Florida man shoots wife, himself outside Ellenton mall after shots fired on I-75, FHP says
A Riverview man shot himself and his wife near the Ellenton outlet mall after reports of shots fired on Interstate 75 in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Florida Highway Patrol said.
Gregory Donnell Smalls, 31, died by suicide and his wife, a 28-year-old who has not been identified, is in serious condition after being shot multiple times.
At 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, state troopers responded to a report of a shooting on the State Road 574 northbound exit ramp of Interstate 75 in Hillsborough County.
Smalls was driving in a white Honda Pilot when he forced a black Infiniti QX60 driven by his wife off the highway and into a ditch, FHP said in a news release.
Smalls exited his vehicle and fired several shot into his wife’s car, FHP said. He then forced her out of her vehicle and into his and started driving southbound toward Ellenton Premium Outlets.
Deputies from Manatee and Hillsborough counties looked for Smalls overnight and found him in a line of trees near the outlet mall.
At 2 a.m., a gunshot was heard near Smalls. He was found dead by the Manatee County SWAT team.
His wife as taken to the hospital to be treated.
