Man shoots wife, then himself after forcing car off I-75 in Hillsborough, troopers say

A 28-year-old woman who was forced off Interstate 75 by her husband and taken from her car on Tuesday afternoon was later found seriously injured from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Gregory Smalls, 31, the man who took the woman, was found with her early Wednesday morning with a fatal gunshot wound that appeared to be self-inflicted, troopers said.

At 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, troopers responded to a report of a shooting along the northbound exit ramp of Interstate 75 leading to State Road 574 in Hillsborough County. Troopers found a black 2017 Infiniti QX60 that had been forced off the highway into a ditch by Smalls, who was the driver of a white 2006 Honda Pilot.

Smalls then exited the Honda, shot into the Infiniti several times and forcibly removed the driver, who troopers later determined was his wife.

Smalls forced the woman into the Honda and drove south to Ellenton Premium Outlets. Law enforcement searched for the pair and found them in the overnight hours in a tree line near the mall.

Just after 2 a.m. Wednesday a gunshot was heard. Members of the Manatee County SWAT Team found Smalls dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The woman, who had several gunshot wounds, was taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition, troopers said.