US Air Force sergeant Charles Bass, 40, accused of pointing gun at 19-year-old woman during road rage incident and asking her if she wants to die
- Shi'Anna Bamba, 19, captured chilling footage of a US Air Force sergeant pointing a gun at her
- The veteran, Charles Bass, 40, was seen raising a gun and asking the Arizona teen, “Do you want to fucking die?”
- Bass was taken into custody on December 15 and is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
A US Air Force sergeant is caught in chilling footage pointing a gun at a terrified 19-year-old motorist during a wild road rage incident.
Charles Bass, 40, was arrested after allegedly appearing in shocking footage filmed by Shi'Anna Bamba, 19, in which he berated the young woman for her driving before asking: “Do you want to fucking die?”
Bamba told ABC15 The chilling moment on December 5 came after she was accused of cutting off a truck, which she denies, and drove alongside Bass at a stoplight.
The Arizona teen said she started recording when they stopped next to each other out of fear, with part of the recording showing Bass raising the gun and pointing it directly at the 19-year-old.
The shocking footage showed the irate driver pointing his gun at the Arizona teen and asking her, “Do you want to fucking die?”
Shi'Anna Bamba, 19, said she was terrified by the incident, saying: “There is nothing I could say out of my mouth that could threaten you to the point where you would have your finger on the trigger.”
Bamba said when she was first confronted by the Air Force veteran, she didn't realize the danger she was in.
“The first time he pulled it up, it didn't really hit me,” she said.
She said she had just dropped her siblings off at school when she tried to change lanes. Court records show she cut off a truck, but Bamba claims she “hasn't even tried to change lanes yet.”
After the near miss, Bamba said she saw another driver gesture to her as he drove past her, and her heart sank when she saw her stopped next to him at the light.
“Then I heard him say, 'Did you want to die?' Bamba said.
The teen said she panicked at the sight of the gun and called her mother as soon as she drove away, still in a daze. It wasn't until a few moments later that she realized what had happened.
She said she then contacted police and showed them the video, and Bass was subsequently arrested on December 15.
He was reportedly taken into custody by the Surprise Police Department, US Marshals and the Air Force.
Charles Bass, 40, a U.S. Air Force sergeant, was taken into custody on December 15 and faces charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
Bamba said she is still shaken by the incident and cannot understand what prompted the veteran to threaten to kill her over road rage.
“There's nothing I could say out of my mouth that would threaten you to the point where you'd have your finger on the trigger, and I was alone in the car,” she said.
Once in custody, Bass reportedly admitted to police that he was involved in the road rage confrontation, but claimed the teen was driving erratically.
He said he raised the gun in the heat of the moment “due to his PTSD and hypervigilance issues,” which he said alarmed him when he saw Bamba's car window rolled down and he didn't know what could happen.
When asked why he still pointed the gun at her after seeing it was a 19-year-old woman, he reportedly replied that he “didn't know why.”
Bass was indicted on multiple charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The U.S. Air Force told ABC15 the incident is under investigation but declined to make a statement.