A 64-year-old New York woman was attacked and burned to death shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday in the elevator of her Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, building.

Police told The Associated Press on Sunday that a 47-year-old man smelling of gasoline walked into a police station overnight and said he was responsible for killing the woman in the elevator.

New York City police spokesman Paul Browne said the man who said he started the fire hasn't been charged. The man's identity has not yet been released, according to The AP via Fox News.

Police told the media that Doris Gillespie was ambushed by an unidentified man when the elevator doors opened, and that he sprayed her with accelerant and set her afire with a Molotov cocktail.

Gillespie was carrying grocery bags at the time of the attack, she turned and crouched in order to protect herself, Browne told Fox News. The man managed to spray the woman's face, head and parts of her body. Browne said the suspect then used a barbeque-style lighter to light a rag in a bottle then set the woman on fire.

No motive has been established for the killing, but Browne told Fox that the suspect knew his victim.

It was apparent he knew she was on the elevator, Browne told Fox News.

The attack, which was said to last about a minute, was captured on video cameras.

CNN affiliate WCBS reported that residents said they heard screams and saw smoke. It was then they realized that a woman was burning inside the elevator.

Myself and someone from the sixth floor went down knocking to get people out. Knocking on doors telling people 'There's a fire, get out, get out, John, a resident who declined to give his last name, told WCBS.

Police issued photos of the attacker showing a man wearing dark-colored jacket, white gloves and a dust mask on his head. The man also has some kind of a container with a nozzle.

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