Christchurch mosque shootings: Gunman 'had magazines strapped to his legs'

Terrified mosque-goers who fled a mass shooting in Christchurch told a neighbour they saw a uniform-clad gunman with "a lot of magazines strapped to his legs".

Oakford Close resident Robert Weatherhead has taken in about 13 men and a boy aged about 3 after they escaped from Al Noor Mosque.

Earlier, he helped three people who had been shot at the mosque.

Police hold a suspect to the ground following a mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied still from video credit: Mary Outram

"One man had been shot twice - once in the abdomen and once in the shoulder ... he was conscious."

The injured had been taken to hospital and he was comforting those who remained at the house, where police had told people to stay put.

No-one wanted to talk to the Herald but Weatherhead said they had told him about the shooting.

They had seen one gunman, a white man aged in his 30s or 40s and who had a lot of magazines strapped to his legs, Weatherhead said.

"He was in a uniform but I haven't been able to find out what kind. He had a vest on as well."

A neighbour had taken in a boy aged between 3 and 6 whose parent was injured in the incident, Weatherhead said.

Weatherhead described hearing the shooting unfold.

"There were a lot of bullets. I heard at least 30 or 40 shots ... it was [in my opinion] a heavy semi-automatic or automatic machine gun."