A survivor told TVNZ disturbing details of what he saw at one of the mosques.

The unidentified man said he saw the gunman shoot a man in the chest. He estimates that up to 60 people were injured in the shooting which lasted about 20 minutes.

He said the gunman first targeted the men’s prayer room, before moving to the women’s room.

“What I did was basically just waiting and praying, God please, let this guy run out of bullets,” the unidentified man said.

"He came to this side, he shoot this side, he went to another room and went to the ladies' section and shot them. I just heard one of the ladies has died."

The South Auckland Muslim Association has released a statement calling on the government to be "vigliant in combating hate against all minorities".

Australia's opposition leader Bill Shorten has also joined the many that have expressed their shock at what happened in New Zealand.

Muslims Australia have released a statement calling what happened "an atrocity".

"The massacre today is a product of the ever-increasing Islamaphobia and marginalisation of Muslims," says president Dr Rateb Jneid. He says it is a reminder for the media and politicians "of the horrific consequences that an atmosphere of hate and division can lead to".

Sonny Bill Williams, a member of New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team, has posted an emotional video message.

Williams, who is a Muslim, says he is sending his love to the families who've lost loved ones, and tells those killed "you guys are all in paradise".

Scott Brown, US ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa expressed his condolences and support on Twitter.

Police in Queensland, Australia have confirmed they are working together with their New Zealand counterparts.

New Zealand police confirm the lockdown of schools across Christchurch has been lifted.

There are growing reports that children are among the injured. Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme has spoken to one witness who said he helped an injured girl.

This is what we know so far about the incident in Christchurch

• There have been mass shootings at least two mosques with "multiple fatalities"
• Explosive devices have been found strapped to several vehicles stopped by police
• Four people are in custody - three men and a woman
• Mosques have been told to close their doors until further notice
• Police say there may be further perpetrators at large
• The government is convening a crisis meeting

So far there has been no official confirmation of the number of people killed, but New Zealand's major news sites are now reporting that up to 27 may have died.

Radio New Zealand reporter Ben Strang tweets;

Police say they are setting up a facility for people worried about their loved ones. They can reach out by phone to get whatever help police and authorities can provide.

There's support pouring in for police officers and the local school staff on the New Zealand police Facebook page.

Image source, Facebook/NZPolice

In their statement, the police also confirmed they'd found several IEDs - improvised explosive devices.

It's looking like this attack was highly co-ordinated, involving heavily armed and well-prepared attackers. Police commissioner Mike Bush would not confirm whether police are considering this a terror attack but said: "It does not get more serious than this."

Another eyewitness at the Al Noor mosque has described the horrific scene of the shooting.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush was clearly reluctant to give confirmed details in his latest press conference on what is a quickly evolving situation.

He also says police are "not assuming this is contained to Christchurch", saying "we cannot make assumptions".