‘You want to die?’ Air Force sergeant aims gun at 19-year-old in road rage, AZ cops say

A man was arrested after being accused of pointing a gun at a 19-year-old during a road rage incident, Arizona police said.

On Dec. 5, Charles Bass, a U.S. Air Force sergeant, according to news outlets, was in Surprise when a 19-year-old changed lanes in front of him, upsetting him, according to a Dec. 18 police news release.

He gave her the middle finger, and when the cars came to a stop, Bass pointed a gun at the woman, police said.

Bass is accused of pointing a gun at the woman twice, police told KNXV.

The woman called police and was able to show an officer a video she took of the incident, officials said.

In the video, Bass can be heard shouting “you want to die?” as he points a black handgun with his finger on the trigger, police said.

“There’s nothing I could say out of my mouth that could threaten you that much to have a finger on the trigger, and I was in the car by myself,” the 19-year-old told KNXV.

After several people were able to identify Bass as the person in the video, he was arrested on Dec. 12 by a U.S. Marshals task force, the U.S. Air Force and Surprise officers, police said.

McClatchy News reached out to the Air Force on Dec. 29 for a comment and was awaiting a response.

During his interview with detectives, Bass said he has post-traumatic stress disorder and “hyper-vigilance issues,” police told Arizona’s Family. He said didn’t know why he pointed the gun at the woman twice after seeing she was a “young girl,” according to the outlet, citing court documents.

Bass was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, endangerment and disorderly conduct with a weapon, the release said.

Surprise is about 20 miles northwest of Phoenix.

This story was originally published December 29, 2023 at 11:28 AM with the headline "‘You want to die?’ Air Force sergeant aims gun at 19-year-old in road rage, AZ cops say."