WATCH: Minneapolis Police Chief Blasts Anti-Police Sentiment After 3-Year-Old Shot

The Minneapolis police chief asserted over the weekend that the police are not the biggest threat to the safety of the city after a three-year-old was reportedly shot Friday.

“The biggest threat to public safety in our city, and particularly to our African-American community, is not the police,” Chief Medaria Arradondo said. “We have an epidemic right now of unequivocal gun violence particularly in our African-American communities. And that must stop.”

As Alpha News MN reported:

The chief’s remarks came during a press conference on Saturday afternoon regarding the shooting, which took place on Friday night on the 3300 block of Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis.

Police were called to the address about 9:47 p.m. on a report of a child being shot. Initial police dispatches indicated the child was 10, but information was later updated stating the child was three years old.

The chief said when officers arrived at the location of the shooting, they observed that the child had suffered a critical gunshot wound. Officers made the decision to transport the child to the hospital in a squad car instead of waiting for the ambulance, which was reported to be three or four minutes away.