Karnig Ohannessian, center, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for the environment, arrives on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in April. (Spec. 3rd Class Anderson Branch/U.S. Navy)

A senior Navy official was charged Tuesday with pointing a gun at a group of men during a June argument on a Fairfax County street that was captured on cellphone video, a Fairfax County prosecutor said.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Environment Karnig Ohannessian is facing three misdemeanor counts of brandishing a firearm following the June 11 incident in Burke, Va., said Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Robert D. McClain.

On the video, which was first obtained by CBS News, a man who appears to be Ohannessian is seen in front of a home, pointing what appears to be a handgun at men who are largely off camera.

[Senior Navy official appears to point gun during argument caught on video]

At various points, Ohannessian is heard shouting “Get in the car!” and complaining of a crime occurring, and saying “I can shoot the [expletive] out of you guys right now!”

One of the men, who was not identified, told WUSA9 that he was leaving a barbecue with two friends when they were approached by Ohannessian, who was complaining about noise.

Fairfax County police said previously that officers were called to the 6600 block of Bestwicke Court in Burke, Va., on June 11 for a report of a man pointing a gun. An argument occurred on the street between a 49-year-old man and other men who had been at a house nearby, police said they were told. The 49-year-old man was said to have pointed his gun at several people.

Police began investigating but determined the victims had left the scene. A 24-year-old man later went to the West Springfield District station to file a report about the alleged brandishing, police said.

Officers then went to Ohannessian’s home and placed him under arrest, but a magistrate later determined that there was not probable cause to charge him with a crime and he was released.

Claude J. Beheler, the chief magistrate in Fairfax County, did not immediately return a call for comment, so it was unclear what had changed to warrant the decision to now go forward with charges against Ohannessian.

After the magistrate initially declined to issue charges, police brought the case to the Fairfax County prosecutor. McClain wrote in an email the prosecutor’s office conducted a more extensive probe of the incident.

“I know that additional investigation was done once our office became aware of the incident,” McClain wrote in an email. “Additional witnesses were contacted and additional information obtained. I would not want to speculate on why the magistrate initially declined charges.”

Ohannessian was selected as the deputy secretary of the Navy for the environment in January. He was first named a senior defense official in 2013. He has worked for the Defense Department since 2003, focusing on environmental issues and base realignment and closure.

Ohannessian had trained as a civil and chemical engineer, according to his Navy biography. He did not respond to a call for comment, and no attorney was listed for him.

A court date has not been set in Ohannessian’s case. Each count of brandishing a firearm is punishable by up to a year in jail.

A Navy official said Tuesday Ohannessian was on leave. Navy officials had previously said Ohannessian was under internal probe following the incident.

“We were made aware of the incident and the video,” Rear Adm. Dawn Cutler, a Navy spokeswoman, said this month. “Mr. Ohannessian’s supervisor is taking the appropriate action, to include working to understand the full details of what occurred. I’d refer you to local authorities for questions about the actual incident.”