CHRISTCHURCH/WELLINGTON (REUTERS) - The death toll in the New Zealand mosque shootings has risen to 50 after investigators found another body at one of the mosques, New Zealand police said on Sunday (March 17), as the authorities worked to formally identify victims and release their bodies to families.
Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday.
Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5, when police say he is likely to face further charges.
Friday's attack, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern labelled as terrorism, was the worst peacetime mass killing in New Zealand, and the country had raised its security threat level to the highest.
Footage of the attack on one of the mosques was broadcast live on Facebook, and a "manifesto" denouncing immigrants as "invaders" was also posted online via links to related social media accounts.
The bodies of the victims have not yet been released to families because investigations are ongoing, but police are working as quickly as they could to do that, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said at a media conference in Wellington.
It is customary in Islam to bury the dead within 24 hours of the death.
"We have to be absolutely clear on cause of death and confirm their identity before that can happen. But we are so aware of the cultural and religious needs, so we are doing that as quickly and sensitively as possible," Mr Bush said.
The police commissioner said the body of the 50th victim was found at the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 people died after a gunman entered and shot randomly at people with a semi-automatic rifle with high-capacity magazines, before travelling to a second mosque.
"As of last night, we were able to take all of the victims from both of those scenes. In doing so, we were able to locate a further victim," Mr Bush said.
He said there were also 50 people injured. Thirty-six were being treated in Christchurch Hospital, with two remaining in critical condition, and one child was at a dedicated children's hospital.
At a roadblock outside the Al Noor mosque, about 40 people were standing in silence near scores of bunches of flowers. Police with gloves and metal detectors combed the street and footpath.
Church services for victims of the attack were held around the country, including at Christchurch's "Cardboard Cathedral", a temporary structure built after much of the central city was destroyed in a 2011 earthquake.
The majority of victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia and Afghanistan. Muslims account for just over 1 per cent of New Zealand's population.
Mr Bush said the police did not believe that three other people arrested on Friday were involved in the attack. Two men faced charges unrelated or "tangential" to the attack, while a woman had been released, he said. Tarrant did not have a criminal history and was not on any watchlist in New Zealand or Australia.
In a manifesto circulating online, Tarrant described himself as "Just a ordinary White man, 28 years old" who used the spoils of cryptocurrency trading to finance extensive travels through Europe from 2016-2018.
PM Ardern said Tarrant was a licensed gun owner who allegedly used five weapons, including two semi-automatic weapons and two shotguns, which had been modified.
"I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change," Ms Ardern told reporters on Saturday, saying a ban on semi-automatic weapons would be considered.
New Zealand has tried in the past to tighten firearm laws, but a strong gun lobby and culture of hunting has stymied such efforts.
There are an estimated 1.5 million firearms in New Zealand, which has a population of only five million, but the country has had low levels of gun violence.
