NZ PM says got ‘manifesto’ from gunman ‘9 minutes before attack’

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her office received a "manifesto" from the gunman suspected of killing 50 people in two Christchurch mosques minutes before Friday's attack.

"I was one of more than 30 recipients of the manifesto that was mailed out nine minutes before the attack took place," Ms Ardern told reporters on Sunday, NDTV reported.

"It did not include a location, it did not include specific details," she said, adding that it was sent to security services within two minutes of receipt.

Ms Ardern said she had read "elements" of the lengthy, meandering and conspiracy-filled far-right "manifesto".

"The fact that there was an ideological manifesto with extreme views attached to this attack, of course, that is deeply disturbing," she said.

The attack, thought to be the deadliest against Muslims in the West in modern times, was immediately dubbed terrorism by Ms Ardern, as she guided a shocked nation on one of its "darkest days."

New Zealanders flocked to memorial sites to lay flowers and mourn the victims of the twin mosque massacres Sunday, as testimony emerged of epic heroism and harrowing suffering in the gun attack that has claimed 50 lives.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said officers had finally been able to share a list of victims with families, something delayed by the need for careful police work and the sheer scale of the tragedy.