Partridge wrote that Tarrant has family in Grafton of New South Wales. He is believed to have been living in New Zealand for the past three years.

Emma Partridge, a senior reporter of 9 News Sydney has revealed that the gunman allegedly involved in the New Zealand shooting is indeed 'Brenton Tarrant'.

The Christchurch Airport, which until now had been noting that operations have been going on as normal, wrote on Twitter that is "still open". However, some flights have been affected. "Aviation Security has increased its presence in the terminal as a precaution. We‘re caring for a number of people who are staying in the terminal while the advice from police is to stay indoors," it noted.

The gunman, Brenton Tarrant, wrote in his manifesto that he carried out the attack to “directly reduce immigration rates to European lands”, noted news.com.au. He also said it was to take revenge for Ebba Akerlund, the 11-year-old child who was killed in a 2017 terror attack in Stockholm.

The gunman was an ardent supporter of US president Donald Trump and wrote about him in his manifesto. He also mentions his unquestioning loyalty to black Republican Candace Owens

Strategic affairs analyst Divya Kumar Soti in a tweet said,"In this picture, you can see "Gaston IV of Bearn" written over Christchurch shooter's weaponry. Gaston was viscount of Bearn was also known as "the Crusader" and fought in Reconquista of Spain and seige of Antioch against Turk muslims during the First Crusade.''

"Police can now confirm the lock down of schools throughout Christchurch has been lifted," NZ police has tweeted. "We would like to reassure members of the public that there is a large Police presence in the city and the safety of the community is our priority," it added.

In his press conference where he announced that four have been taken into custody, New Zealand police commissioner Mike Bush said police are now seeking to "saturate" the city area to ensure that schools and other institutions can come out of lockdown.

Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, Winston Peters, tweeted that this was an "awfully, awfully, sad day for New Zealand." He added that there are lessons from the day which "we can call learn."

New Zealand police, reported CNN, has said that four people (three men and one woman) are in custody over the Christchurch mosque shootings, but they "cannot presume that the danger is gone."

Australian channel Nine News Melbourne has reported that there may be as many as 27 deaths in the twin mosque firings in Christchurch. AFP had reported local media as having quoted nine deaths.

A Twitter user Mustafa Hamdani has uploaded an image of the outside of the Masjid al Noor mosque in central Christchurch where the attack took place.

The New Zealand cricket team tweets out condolences through its official Twitter handle. Both the Bangladeshi and Kiwi teams and support staff groups are safe, it assured. The third Test between the two countries has been cancelled.

The mosques were packed with worshippers gathering for Friday afternoon prayers, and members of the Bangladesh cricket team were arriving when the shooter opened fire.

New Zealand police have warned all mosques countrywide to shut their doors after active shooters opened fire in two mosques in Christchurch city center.

There have been reports of a third shooting outside a hospital and an unconfirmed shooting at a high school.

Local media reported at least nine people were dead and the South Island city was placed in lockdown as police hunted for an "active shooter."

The third Test match between New Zealand and Bangladesh has been called off following the shooting at a mosque in Christchurch.

One person is in custody and there have been people killed in two mosques, one on Deans Ave and one in Linwood.

The New Zealand police tweeted,''Police are aware there is extremely distressing footage relating to the incident in Christchurch circulating online. We would strongly urge that the link not be shared. We are working to have any footage removed.''

TVNZ quoted the police as having confirmed that there have been multiple fatalities, and that there still is an active shooter scenario playing out. One person is in custody and there have been people killed in two mosques, one on Deans Ave and one in Linwood.

Air New Zealand has released a statement around travel to Christchurch, reported local news channel TVNZ. "We are deeply saddened by the shooting tragedy in #Christchurch city and our thoughts go out to all those involved. "We are offering flexibility to anyone booked to travel to or from Christchurch today."

Twitter, Facebook has suspended an account purportedly used by New Zealand mass shooting suspect, a journalist has reported. YouTube too suspended the account that was shared when he live streamed the massacre.

New Zeland Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says it’s ‘one of New Zealand’s darkest days’. Addressing media, She said,“Police have one suspect in custody, however there could be others. There are multiple scenes involved in this incident.''

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has just tweeted about the mosque shootings.

Media in New Zealand are reporting a shooting at a second mosque in Linwood.

There are reports that the man who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant, 28, of Australia filmed self just before live streaming mass shooting at mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Australian diplomats in New Zealand are seeking information on whether any citizens were affected by the Christchurch mosque shooting.

The NZ Herald reports the gunman, believed to be Australian citizen, filmed as he shot victims in the mosque and wrote a 37-page manifesto declaring his intentions. Authorities are yet to confirm this.

Bangladeshi performance & strategic analyst Shrinivas Chandrasekaram also posted soon afterwards.

Canterbury Police have tweeted to avoid the area around Dean Avs stating that there was a critical incident in the area.

The incident took place around 1.45pm local time when the team had gone to pray when the incident took place.

It was a narrow escape for the Bangladesh cricketers. ESPNCricinfo correspondent Mohammad Isam showed the Bangladesh cricketers Tamim Iqbal and Taijul Islam running back from Hagley Park back to the cricket ground.

Local media said there were multiple casualties at one mosque and that another had been evacuated.

Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus said most of the team were bussed to the mosque and were about to go inside when the incident happened.