UPDATE 4:47 PST: Police believe the suspect who opened fire on civilians has committed suicide, bringing the total number of fatalities to 10. It appears the gunman acted alone, according to Munich authorities.

Reports of a gunman, or possibly gunmen opening fire inside a McDonald's restaurant mall plaza have been confirmed. Authorities are referring to this situation as a "possible terror attack" and are actively searching for a suspect at the time of this report.

CNN, The New York Times and other sources have reported that an active shooter opened fire Friday evening at a McDonald's restaurant, across the street from the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum shopping mall in Munich.

Authorities reported that the shooting began at approximately 5:50 p.m. The Munich Police force has reported at least 8 fatalities. The is number of people injured is unknown.

As news began to spread across social media, video of what appears to be a man standing in front of a McDonald's begin firing into a crowd of people.

New Video Shooter firing at people outside the Mall in #Munich. pic.twitter.com/inPzcdl252

— Barzan Sadiq (@BarzanSadiq) July 22, 2016

This is the third consecutive act of mind-numbing violence to occur on European soil in just more than a week. On the evening of July 14, a truck plowed into crowds of people gathering to celebrate Bastille Day, leaving 80 people dead.

Then, on July 20, a teenager, who authorities claimed was inspired by ISIS, attacked several people on a train in Germany. The teenager was killed by police, according to CNN.

It is saddening that these senseless acts of violence continue to take innocent lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Munich and the rest of the world trying to cope with these awful crimes.