Christchurch shooting

Philip Arps sent the video to 30 people and to a friend, asking for it to be modified to include a "kill count".

Christchurch District Judge Stephen O'Driscoll said Arps held "unrepentant views" towards the Muslim community.

A gunman killed 51 people in the attack on Muslims at a mosque and Islamic centre during Friday prayers in March.

At the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday, Arps pleaded guilty to two charges of distributing objectionable material for sharing footage that was livestreamed to social media during the attack.

Volunteers have descended on Christchurch to assist with the burial process and support victims' families.

Islamic tradition calls for bodies to be buried as soon as possible, but the burials have been delayed by the scale of the identification process.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-described white supremacist, has been charged with murder.

Christchurch city officials issued strict guidance to the media ahead of Wednesday's funerals and requested that the families be left alone.

The victims in critical care include a four-year-old girl at Starship Hospital. Her father is in Auckland Hospital in a stable condition.

Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates said 49 people received hospital treatment for gunshot injuries after the attacks on two mosques last Friday.

"The response from the clinical teams at Christchurch Hospital has been extraordinary," Mr Meates said.

One person is in custody, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said, but it is not know if other gunmen are still on the loose.

A person appearing to be a white supremacist issued a warning on social media ahead of the attack and appears to have streamed live video of at least one of the shootings taking place.

Parts of central Christchurch, including schools, are in lockdown after the incidents.

Eyewitnesses said as many as 15 people may been hit at one mosque, the Masjid Al Noor mosque on Deans Ave.