Domestic-related shooting ends with husband dead near Ellenton Premium Outlets; wife hospitalized
ELLENTON, Fla. - A shooting incident involving a husband and wife in Hillsborough County crossed county lines and ended with one dead and one hospitalized.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, troopers responded to a report of the shooting along the northbound exit ramp of Interstate 75 leading to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. When they arrived, they said they spotted a black 2017 Infiniti QX60, which was forced off the highway and into a ditch by a white 2006 Honda Pilot.
Troopers said a man, later identified as 31-year-old Gregory Donnell, a Riverview man, exited the Honda and approached the Infiniti.
"Smalls fired several rounds into the vehicle, then forcibly removed the female driver, aged 28, who was later determined to be married to Smalls," according to an FHP news release. "Smalls forced the woman into the Honda and then began driving southbound to the Ellenton Outlet Mall."
Overnight, troopers, along with Hillsborough and Manatee deputies, tried to locate Smalls.
Smalls and the victim were spotted near a tree line at the outlet mall. Troopers said just after 2 a.m., a gunshot was heard in that area.
SWAT team member with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office found Smalls' body with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The victim had several gunshot wounds and was taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition.