Senior Navy official caught on camera threatening young men with gun

A senior naval official is under investigation after pulling a gun on some young men outside his home, CBS News' David Martin reports. One of those men recorded the heated altercation on his phone.

Karnig Ohannessian, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Environment, can be seen in the video pointing a gun at young men he says are drunk and making noise outside his house in the Washington suburbs.

Karnig Ohannessian is seen pointing a gun at young men outside of his home. CBS News

Ohannessian tells the boys to get in their car, to which one of them responds: "You're pointing a gun at my friend. This is a criminal offense, so please stop it."

The men taunt him while one of them records the incident.

"Be thankful you have a gun man," one of the boys tells Ohannessian as he continues to brandish the gun. "It shows what kind of a [expletive] you are."

A woman seen in the video talking on the phone is apparently Ohannessian's wife. She later pleads for him to let the men leave as he claims that they are on his private property.

Ohannessian's wife apparently tried to calm the situation. CBS News

It's unclear if the gun is loaded, but in the footage Ohannessian threatens to use it.

"I can shoot the [expletive] out of you guys right now," he says.

Shortly after the incident last month, the mother of one of the young men filed a complaint. Ohannessian, who is also a recipient of two meritorious civilian service awards, was briefly taken into custody.

The Navy learned of the incident on Tuesday when shown the video by CBS News. In a statement, Rear Adm. Dawn Cutler, Navy Chief of Information, said officials are aware of the incident and video. "Mr. Ohannessian's supervisor is taking the appropriate action, to include working to understand the full details of what occurred," Cutler said.

No charges have been filed against Ohannessian, and the investigation remains open.

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