CHRISTCHURCH, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The gunman accused of Christchurch terrorist attack is to face 50 murder charges and 39 attempted murder charges, New Zealand police said on Thursday.

Brenton Tarrant will appear in Christchurch High Court on Friday. The Police said other charges are still under consideration.

The 28-year-old Australian gunman is now in custody at New Zealand's only maximum security prison in Paremoremo, Auckland. He will appear in the court through audio-visual link from prison.

Fifty people were killed at Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center in Christchurch central on March 15. Tarrant was caught by local police less than 30 minutes after the emergency call, with five firearms including an automatic weapon seized.

He appeared briefly in the District Court on March 16.