Bloody scenes: Man charged with murder appears in court

A body was located in a central Christchurch address on Sunday night. Police have cordoned off the intersection of Armagh Street and Barbadoes Street. Photo / George Heard

A man has appeared in court this morning charged with murder after the discovery of a body at a Christchurch property last night.

A homicide investigation began after initial reports of a serious assault and a hammer-wielding man seen "saturated" in blood.

Court documents name the murder victim as Faiz Ali.

This morning at Christchurch District Court, a 38-year-old man appeared in the dock from custody.

Defence counsel Andrew McKenzie said no applications were ot be made today.

Judge Mark Callaghan remanded the man custody without plea to next appear at the High Court in Christchurch on March 14.

The judge also granted a police application for interim name suppression of the accused.

Police said emergency services received a report of a serious assault at an Armagh St property about 7.35pm yesterday.

A body was located at the address, police said, and a homicide inquiry was launched.

"Soon after, police located a person who is assisting with the investigation."

Police said emergency services received a report of a serious assault at an Armagh St property about 7.35pm last night. Photo / George Heard

Earlier, parts of central Christchurch were cordoned off after reports of a man covered in blood carrying a hammer and running down the road.

A witness staying at a backpackers on Barbadoes St told Newstalk ZB's Chris Lynch that he saw the man. The witness also said several females were running away from the man.

The man was later stopped by police on Moorhouse Ave outside the Godfreys Law building, Lynch reported.

Meanwhile, a video sent to Lynch shows a St John ambulance pushing a stretcher into the driveway of a block of flats on Armagh St earlier in the evening.

Another witness posted on Facebook that people should avoid Moorhouse Ave if they had children as it was "pretty scary".

"Man arrested outside McDonald's saturated in (a lot) of blood all over his clothes from neck down. Not nice. Hoping that everyone involved is OK."

Police urged the public to stay away from the scene.

In a statement released this morning, police added: "Police believe this to be an isolated incident with no further risk to the public."