SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse police plan to start using the nearly vacant Shoppingtown Mall to train officers for active shooter incidents.

It’s the perfect space, according to police brass, because it’s big, it’s indoors and it’s pretty much empty.

“We’re always searching for locations,” deputy Chief Joseph Cecile told lawmakers Wednesday. “We’re looking for a venue that’s large that would be very similar to an active shooter. This was the only place we could find that would allow us to do it...The mall is practically empty other than the movie theaters so we’ve got the run of the place.”

Cecile is asking the Common Council to approve an agreement between the department and the mall. He answered questions about the deal at a public safety committee meeting earlier this week.

Shoppingtown would host SWAT training drills several times a year. The deal wouldn’t cost city taxpayers anything, Cecile said.

Cecile said the department often uses abandoned houses or other similar buildings for SWAT training. But a place like Shoppingtown is better to train for a modern active shooter incident.

In the last several years, nearly all of Shoppingtown’s retail tenants have moved out, including all of its anchor stores. Its last food court restaurant closed shop in 2018.

Common Council President Helen Hudson asked if the training has anything to do with a recent shooting at Destiny USA.

A shooter opened fire near the food court on Black Friday, sparking a huge panic among shoppers and employees on the busiest day of the year. The shooting was an isolated incident between two men who knew each other. But it tested responses and active shooter policies of the police department and the mall.

Cecile said that the Destiny incident had nothing to do with the plan to train at Shoppingtown. The department routinely trains for “reality based” situations, and Shoppingtown is just the latest location.

Councilor Pat Hogan raised a concern about the mall’s tax delinquent status. The mall’s owner, Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC, owes more than $10 million in back taxes and fees. The mall has filed for bankruptcy protection.

“I know there’s been an effort to address those problems,” Hogan said.

Hogan said he would speak with the city’s lawyers about the back taxes. The mall is located just beyond the city limits in the Town of DeWitt.

The council will likely be asked to vote on the agreement at its next meeting in early March.