At least one shooter opened fire at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, killing several.
New Zealand Police confirmed the incident, saying that a "serious and evolving situation" is occurring with an active shooter. Police Commissioner Mike Bush said in a statement that authorities had taken one person into custody but the police believe "there may be other offenders."
"This is an evolving incident and we are working to confirm the facts, however we can confirm there have been a number of fatalities," Bush said.
"Police recommend that residents across Christchurch remain off the streets and indoors until further notice. Christchurch schools will be locked down until further notice," a separate official notice said.
Local media cited sources indicating there had been multiple deaths from the shooting.
The Bangladesh cricket team was in the vicinity of the shooting but all members were safe, a team coach told media.
Radio New Zealand quoted a witness inside the mosque saying he heard shots fired and at least four people were lying on the ground and "there was blood everywhere."
"Horrified to hear of Christchurch mosque shootings. There is never a justification for that sort of hatred," said Amy Adams, a member of parliament from Christchurch.
The Bangladesh cricket team is in Christchurch to play New Zealand in a third cricket test starting on Saturday.
Mario Villavarayen, strength and conditioning coach of the Bangladesh cricket team was quoted by the New Zealand Herald as saying that the team was close to where the shooting occurred, but was safe.
"The players are shaken up but fine," Villavarayen was quoted as saying.
—Reuters contributed to this report.
An Australian, , aged 28, appeared in  District Court, New Zealand yesterday, charged with one count of murder pertaining to a  on Friday, which caused the death of at least 50 people. Judge Paul Kellar ordered the accused remain in custody until his next court appearance on April 5.

Police alleged the accused performed two attacks. The first attack reportedly was in  at about 13:40 local time (0040 ), which left at least 42 people dead. The second attack reportedly was in , killing at least eight people, on the same day. Brenton Tarrant did not apply for bail. Further charges may be laid in the future, police said.

Police arrested the accused in the neighborhood of Strickland Street, 36 minutes after the mass shooting in Al Noor Mosque according to police. After his arrest on Friday, Brenton stayed in the Christchurch central police station overnight before appearing in court on the next day.

Brenton Tarrant had a valid gun licence allowing him to buy weapons, ABC reported. According to New Zealand Prime Minister , Brenton had a licence for the five firearms he allegedly used for the attack — two semi-automatic, two shotguns, and one lever-action. Professor Greg Barton, Chair In Global Islamic Politics in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the , said "The attacker was using a couple of guns, one was a shotgun, one was an  — that's the so-called civilian equivalent of the . It's an ". The authorities seized these firearms.

Prime Minister Ardern said at a press conference yesterday morning the gun laws should be changed. She said, "I have instructed  Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination to report to Cabinet on Monday on these events with a view to strengthening our systems on a range of fronts including, but not limited to, firearms, border controls, enhanced information-sharing with Australia, and any practice reinforcement of our watchlist processes."

Brenton also allegedly released an anti-Muslim document online, outlining political motivation, prior to the murders. Social media have been struggling to censor the alleged gunman's videos of the murder, according to reports.