It wasn’t long ago when toy and pellet guns were just that — toys. 

But following the police shooting death of a teenager in Utica after he pointed a pellet gun at an officer last year, the days of these guns being toys seem over.

A 10-month investigation by Spectrum News 1 found how easy it is for a person to buy one and manipulate it to look real — and enforcement of regulations against the sale of the guns is left to consumers and business owners to file complaints online.

The replicas are involved in police-related shootings at an alarming rate, said Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.

“We get about a thousand police shootings a year and 5% of them involve what turn out to be toy guns or fake guns,” he said.

One of those shootings in June 2024 led to the death of 13-year-old Nyah Mway in Utica, who pointed a black pellet gun during a foot pursuit with police.

Community members in Utica rally after the shooting death of 13-year-old Nyah Mway last summer. (Spectrum News 1)

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office found earlier this month that a prosecutor “would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt” that the officer’s actions were justified — essentially clearing the officer.

“My big frustration with this whole incident had to do with the fact that I can’t believe they make exact replicas of these handguns,” Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said.

According to the AG’s report, one officer tackled Mway, later telling investigators he believed he was “fighting for his life” because Mway still had the gun in his hand. While Mway was on the ground, another officer shot him.

“[Pellet guns] are so realistic. If you put them side by side in daylight, you have a hard time telling the difference,” Williams said.

The shooting, which happened at night, led to questions about how kids are getting their hands on these types of replica guns that are illegal in New York, including both pellet guns and toy guns.

“New York implemented a change in a law within the last decade, basically eliminating any dark-colored guns. They want them to be brightly colored orange or something,” Fitzpatrick said.

By law, the guns can’t darkly painted or covered in aluminum. And, despite common belief, orange tips at the ends of the guns, which are easily removable, don’t make them legal. The entire gun must be distinguishable. 

Removing the tip isn’t the only way retired New York State Police Maj. Frank Coots said these guns are being altered.

“You could take a can of spray paint and spray in color. You take a piece of black tape and cover it,” he said.

Retired New York State Police Maj. Frank Coots shows how easy it is to remove orange tips, once thought to be a way to distinguish between fake guns and real ones. (Spectrum News 1)

In addition, airsoft guns require the purchaser to be 16 years old or under parental supervision when using it.

To Coots, there is a good reason to have an age restriction.

“[A teen’s] brain hasn’t fully developed to make correct decisions. That’s why we don’t let them drink at the age of 18 anymore,” Coots said.

But, despite the regulations in place, Fitzpatrick flagged several toy guns purchased as part of research for this story as illegal, including an all-black air gun bought at a big-box store.

“There’s no reason for pellet guns to be sold that are so incredibly realistic. There’s no reason for air pistols or some of these paintball guns,” he said.

Onondaga County District Attorney displays a toy gun bought at a local store that does not meet New York state's requirements on toy guns. (Spectrum News 1)

While parents and other adults may buy them for a child thinking it’s a toy or for hobby use, Coots said everyone involved — from the manufacturer to the shop owner to the purchaser — needs to take more into consideration.

“Make them realize that their decision today might have ramifications later on,” Coots said. “What we want to do is prevent it from happening in the first place, so a police officer doesn’t have to react that way.”

But for the seller of the guns, the consequences are nearly non-existent.

“We’re not going to go out and arrest anybody for that unless they ignore our polite request to stop selling that,” Fitzpatrick said.

But who is making the request and enforcing the laws?

Shortly after Mway’s death, Spectrum News 1 contacted James’ office for comment on the prevalence of replica guns. James’ office didn’t grant the numerous requests for an on-camera interview, but pointed to an online form people can use to file a complaint about realistic-looking toy guns.

However, just a couple of days before Halloween, the AG’s office issued a press release stating that any store selling an illegal imitation, replica or illegal toy gun could be subject to a civil fine of up to $1,000 per gun.

Zero stores were fined, according to information obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

“If there’s no throughput under the legislation and it's just sitting there kind of dormant, if you will, and not enforced, then that’s a problem because at some point it gets enforced,” said New York State Assemblyman Scott Gray. “And then there’s always the question of whether it’s selectively enforced or not.”

Gray believes that, at least in part, a lack of enforcement has led these toys to becoming something they were never meant to be. 

While in his 33 years of service with the State Police, Coots said he’s seen the use of these guns in crimes only grow.

“Why are we calling them toys? And granted, it is a toy, but it tends to minimize what it could do,” Coots added.

Airsoft guns readily available in stores across New York routinely failed to meet regulations. (Spectrum News 1)

According to state data, as of 2022, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of crimes committed using toy replica guns, and that has led to 63 shootings in New York because people confused these guns for real firearms. Eight of those instances have resulted in deaths.

“I hate to deprive the kid of something fun to do, but... is it worth it?” Fitzpatrick said.

It’s a question Mway’s family and community believes deserves an answer.

“The attorney general’s office was very open about that. They said this is wrong. Absolutely wrong. There’s just the system that we’re living in that needs to change,” Mway family spokesperson Chris Sunderlin said.

There are also answers that police are seeking as the officers deal with being involved in shootings.

“Anybody that uses deadly physical force, it changes who they are,” Coots said. 

And that’s why Coots says asking these questions has never been more important.

“It’s why we’re sitting here today looking at these things. What do we do as a society to minimize it, to prevent it? Coots asked.

The orange tips— the ones that easily pop off— were once seen as a fix to this problem.

“Back in the late '90s, the FBI did a study on that with their FBI recruits, some of the finest law enforcement people in the world,” Fitzpatrick said. “They had about 95-96% ‘failure rate.’ In other words, the agents shot the perpetrator with even with the orange tip exposed and clearly visible on the gun.”

Fitzpatrick mused if it is time to abolish all replica and toy guns. 

“I hate to say it because I had so much fun doing it as a kid,” he said. 

Toy guns for sale in a store in northern New York. Some worry replica guns like this can be easily manipulated. (Spectrum News 1)

Parents, too, play a role considering they are often the ones buying the guns for their kids.

“We put a lot of responsibility early on our parents. But, if you’re going to be a parent, that is a huge responsibility,” Coots said. 

Fitzpatrick said far too often he sees kids in his office who are in trouble with the law, who don’t have that traditional two-adults support system. A recent study by the Annie Casey Foundation found 1.3 million (35%) of New York children are living in a single-parent home, while 222,000 (6%) live in a no-parent home. Both numbers have doubled since 1980.

“It’s invariably a single or no-parent home,” he said.

Barring a permanent ban, which seems unlikely, most everyone interviewed for this story believes that a solution will have to be multi-faceted: from the training of police to passing enforceable legislation, from responsible manufacturing to taking illegal ones off the shelf, and from educating buyers to using them as intended.

And that was the top tip for kids: Do not point them at anyone, ever.

“A street encounter isn’t a debate [for police]. That hesitation, you’re coming home in the body bag, not the kid or the perpetrator,” Fitzpatrick said.