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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department hosted an active shooter training at Pierce College Thursday morning.

COVID-19 restrictions had prevented large-scale active shooter exercises for two years, but LASD Deputy Sheriff Miguel Meza is happy to be back.

“It feels good to be back … It’s needed for us and also for the public,” Meza said.

Thursday’s training began around 8:45 a.m. with an “active shooter” report in the campus library.

A SWAT team was helicoptered in on Rescue Air-5 to rappel into place and engage the pretend hostage takers.

“They’re going to be responding as if it were an emergency situation,” Meza said before the exercise.

Sheriff’s deputies and Los Angeles city firefighters wearing ballistic vests also practiced rescuing people from within a “warm zone” where the threat had not been neutralized.

Canines were used to search the perimeter of the campus, which is located at 6201 Winnetka Ave.

The training was closed to the public.