A senior Navy official is reportedly facing charges after being caught on video threatening three men with a handgun last month.
Karnig Ohannessian, the deputy secretary of the Navy for the environment, was charged on Tuesday with three counts of brandishing a firearm, a reporter for WUSA9 reported.
Ohannessian is seen on video yelling at a group of three men for being noisy when they parked on the street outside his home in Burke, Va. The men said the senior Navy official attacked the group, then went inside to get a handgun.
One of the men recorded the incident on a cell phone, and the video shows Ohannessian shouting, “Get in the car!” and saying, “I can shoot the [expletive] out of you guys right now!”
The Navy had previously said that Ohannessian was facing an internal investigation as well. Cmdr. Mike Kafka, a Navy spokesman, said Ohannessian was palced on administrative leave on July 7, and remains on leave.
“We are aware of the charges,” Kafka said in a statement. “For information on the charges I refer you to local authorities.”
Ohannessian has served as the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for the environment since January. He has worked for the Navy as a civilian since 2003. Prior to that, he worked for private engineering and consulting companies for 13 years. He has received two Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, according to his bio.
A spokesman for Fairfax County did not immediately return a request for comment.
