CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WINA) – Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis held his first major public meeting on Monday.

So many people showed up at Old Trinity Church that some were left standing outside. The question was how to address gun violence in the city, a question with no easy answer but many were there to voice their frustrations.

One speaker noted Kochis’ claim that all of his his officers are “solid.”

“That’s fine, but what it feels like is that you’re saying what you are supposed to say from this position, that everybody in my squad is solid,” he said. “That’s BS, because we know that it’s impossible for everyone in your squad to be solid. So don’t come in here and want us to trust you and then say [expletive] like that. That ain’t fair.”

Another speaker put the blame on parents.

“I cannot sit here and not say that this is not a police issue, it’s more of a parenting issue,” she said. “I am a single mother of two Black males. I know what comes in my house. I check their bags, I check their pocket, I check under the mattress, I check their drawers. No guns are coming in my house, no drugs are coming in my house. Put the accountability back on the parents, and then we won’t have all this gun violence.”

Kochis announced that the department will open a substation on Prospect Avenue shortly. He also reiterated his plan to increase police presence on the Corner, the 10 & Page neighborhood and areas to the south of it.

Kochis says more public forums are on the horizon.