Arizona lawmaker and man who shot her cross paths again at Suns stadium debate

An Arizona politician crossed paths with the man who shot her 22 years ago during a debate over the Phoenix Suns arena Wednesday. Mary Rose Wilcox was shot by Larry Naman in 1997 after she supported a tax to fund Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Wilcox was hospitalized in fair condition after being shot in the pelvis by Naman. He served nearly 12 years of his 15-year sentence, and was released from prison in 2010. On Wednesday, Naman showed up at a local city council meeting to object to stadium renovations on Talking Stick Resort Arena that would cost $230 million.

Wilcox, who also spoke at the city council meeting, listened as Naman introduced himself, explained exactly who he was and used an uncomfortable phrase when speaking to the group of politicians.

When Naman was arrested in 1997 for shooting Wilcox, he said he would apologize to Wilcox only when she admitted what she did was an “act of violence.”

Naman stood by that notion Wednesday. Once he was done speaking, Councilman Michael Nowakowski apologized to Wilcox for having to listen to Naman speak. Naman reportedly responded by saying, “she deserved it.”

The council was initially slated to vote on the renovations in December. After a lot of public outcry, the council postponed the vote to hear from residents before voting.

After the public forum Wednesday, the council voted to approve the funding plan 6-2.

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