JERSEY CITY -- Rochelle Bryant says she has no idea where to purchase a gun but if you asked a teen as young as 13, they would know the answer.

"That to me is so scary," Bryant said during a public safety citizen advisory board meeting Tuesday night that for the first time was open to members of the community.

Bryant was one of a handful of residents who expressed their concerns about gun violence, the diversity of the city's police department, and there not being enough programs or jobs established for teens and young adults.

"It's scary that someone is in our community filtering guns to our kids...It's scary to me that kids are in a party, at a church with a loaded gun. To me, that seems to be beyond insane," Bryant said, referencing the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Leander Williams, who police say was carrying a loaded weapon at the time.

The gathering, which drew only a handful of residents and more than a dozen police officers and department brass, was the board's first public meeting. The nine-person entity will meet with Public Safety Director James Shea on a monthly basis and has been credited with creating a way for officers to better respond to calls that involve mental health patients.

Responding to Bryant's frustrations with young kids having guns, Shea -- who was appointed to his position in 2013 -- said the city is working closely with the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office to take illegal guns off the streets. More than 100 illegals guns have been recovered this year, most of them coming from out of state.

"It cannot be solved just here in Jersey City," Shea said. "As long as you can get on a bus in Chinatown and go down to Georgia and fill a suitcase with guns and bring them back we're going to have to fight that."

After a former Jersey City resident said he feels as though people are afraid of police in the city because the force "does not reflect the community," Shea -- who has been pushing for a more diverse police department -- fired back saying he cares about having "good police officers" who "do a good job in the community."

Jersey City has worked to diversify the police department which is now 54 percent white, 30 percent Hispanic, 11 percent black, 4 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1 percent Native American, Shea said. In 2013 the department was 63 percent white, 10 percent black, and 25 percent Hispanic.

Though Shea later emphasized the city continues to find ways to recruit minorities to the police force, Jersey City Public School teacher Lewis Spears told The Jersey Journal the director's comments were "insensitive."

"It's not about black and white, it's about matching the community," Spears said.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.