TOWN OF TONAWANDA — Town of Tonawanda police are looking for a person of interest as they continue to search for the suspect who stole a vehicle at gunpoint Wednesday night outside the Noco Express Mart at the corner of Sheridan Drive and Parker Boulevard.

No arrest warrant has been issued, but Gregory Allen Young Jr., 31, is being sought for questioning. He is wanted by the Erie County Sheriffs Department on unrelated charges of criminal contempt.

Police say the carjacking occurred at 8:35 p.m. The female victim had just pumped gas and was sitting in her red 2008 two-door Ford Focus with a new York state license plate number DLX 3618 texting a friend on her cell phone. She was the only customer at the gas pumps on the west side of the store.

That’s when a man approached the woman, opened the driver’s door and stuck a hand gun in her face.

“He told her to get out, and he took the cell phone out of her hand,” said Capt. Larry Bevilacqua. “He then got in the vehicle, went around to the rear of the Noco and went northbound on Parker.”

The woman’s purse was still in the car, as were items belonging to her boyfriend, who is an auxiliary police officer in the City of Tonawanda.

Items inside the car included handcuffs and other police equipment, although City of Tonawanda Lt. Fredric Foels said the items were not property of the department. Foels said City of Tonawanda police contacted the auxiliary officer, whose name was not available Thursday, and verified that the equipment is personal property he uses as an employee at a local business.

“It was equipment that he owns and uses as a security guard,” Foels said.

Official department equipment is typically stored at work or at officers’ homes, he said, but such customs do not apply to private property.

Surveillance video from the Noco store shows the man approaching the car from behind and opening the door, forcing the woman out then getting in and driving away. The woman took a couple steps away from the car and as it departed, she ran toward the store.

The carjacker is described as a white male, about 5 feet, 10 inches and wearing camouflage shorts and a white T-shirt. The woman, who was not injured, could not provide a better description.

“He stuck the gun in her face,” Bevilacqua said. “She was pretty much focused on the gun.”

There is no clear image of the suspect from the store cameras.

“They’re angled to get the license plates, not faces,” Bevilacqua explained.

Police hope that because the crime occurred in a heavily traveled area that there may be witnesses who have not stepped forward. Bevilacqua noted the neighborhood is not known for crime.

“It’s usually a pretty quiet area; the amount of traffic is usually what gets our attention,” Bevilacqua said. “In fact, I can’t recall at any time a carjacking in the town.”

People with information on the crime are asked to call the Town of Tonawanda Police Department at 879-6613.

Reporter Neale Gulley contributed to this report.