New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she will be holding discussions with Facebook after it emerged that the suspect in the mosque shootings had apparently live-streamed the attack.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, allegedly used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast 17 minutes of live video of the rampage at the al Noor mosque in Christchurch.

The footage was broadcast live on Facebook, and a “manifesto” denouncing immigrants as “invaders” was also posted online via links to related social media accounts.

Ms Ardern said her office was one of more then 30 recipients of the emailed manifesto just nine minutes before guns were fired, but it did not include location or specific details.

Facebook said on Twitter that “police alerted us to a video on Facebook shortly after the live-stream commenced and we quickly removed both the shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and the video”.

It said it had removed 1.5 million videos of the attack in the first 24 hours of the slaughter.

But the issue has raised new questions about violence being disseminated on social media platforms.

Ms Ardern told a news conference on Sunday she had been contacted by Facebook’s operations chief, Sheryl Sandberg, who shared condolences over the shootings that killed 50 people.

“Certainly, I have had contact from Sheryl Sandberg. I haven’t spoken to her directly but she has reached out, an acknowledgement of what has occurred here in New Zealand,” Ms Ardern said when asked if Facebook should stop live-streaming.

“This is an issue that I will look to be discussing directly with Facebook,” she added.

Mia Garlick, of Facebook New Zealand, said: “We continue to work around the clock to remove violating content using a combination of technology and people.

“Out of respect for the people affected by this tragedy and the concerns of local authorities, we’re also removing all edited versions of the video that do not show graphic content.”

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