Police have apologised after listing a woman as the named murder victim in the Christchurch mosque shootings when she was actually alive.

The alleged gunman appeared in court last week where he faced one charge of murder, for a woman whose name was suppressed. Further charges are expected to be laid.

The woman was connected to the shootings, but was still alive. Police say they have spoken to her and apologised and the charge sheet will be amended.

“An error was made in the charging document prepared for the first court appearance of the man charged with murder in relation to the Christchurch terror attacks. The error saw an incorrect victim name included in the charging document,” said a NZ police spokesperson.

“We have spoken with the person incorrectly named on the charging document and apologised. The charge sheet will be amended.

“New Zealand police regret this error and apologies for any harm caused by the mistake.”

The mistake was spotted by a reporter for Stuff when they were trying to add up the number of those killed and kept reaching a total of 51 names. It quoted Detective Superintendent Chris Page as saying the error did not affect the validity or legality of the prosecution.