(NewsNation) — Replica guns — meant to look like the real thing, but typically holding non-lethal projectiles — are at the root of at least a dozen deaths in the United States this year.

In 2024, 12 people have been killed by police while in possession of a replica gun, which have similar weights, finishes and markings as a real gun. Three of the victims were minors, data compiled by The Washington Post shows.

These numbers are part of a larger trend of police shootings spurred by replica guns, with data showing that at least 320 people have been shot and killed by law enforcement while holding the faux weapons. Of those killed, 19 were minors.

What is a replica gun?

Replica guns are devices made to mimic the look and feel of a real firearm without the same power to kill.

Sometimes used for display or to play non-lethal sports, replica guns can also include air, BB and pellet guns. The main difference is their lethal capability, as none of the replicated guns dispense real bullets, even if they can be used to kill in some cases.

Toy guns, which are required to denote their replica status with bright colors, a cover on the muzzle or other indicators, have been regulated for decades.

It’s been illegal to “ship, transport, or receive any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm” without proper markings since 1989.

Replica guns aren’t bound to those standards.

Why are replica guns dangerous?

Lack of regulation leads to replica guns that look and feel like the real thing.

“Even in your hand it feels very real,” Jim Balthazar, a retired special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told CBS News. “It’s not like it’s plastic where you can pick it up and it’s very light. It’s solid and — it kind of has the comparable weight to a real firearm.”

“I think it would be superhuman to be able to tell the difference in the midst of an interaction with a suspect, certainly on the street, lighting conditions are not good and so forth … it looks too real,” Balthazar added.

Who has died?

12 people killed so far in 2024 range in age from 13 to 68, according to the Post’s database. All were male.

Shootings were reported from every corner of the nation, with a majority of the incidents bearing a striking similar narrative: cops confuse the replica gun for a real weapon, and the person is shot on the street.

In June, a 13-year-old was fatally shot by an upstate New York police officer who mistook him and another teen for robbery suspects.

The body camera video released by police captures an officer saying he needs to pat them down to ensure they don’t have any weapons in their possession. Immediately one of the two, identified by police as Nyah Mway, runs away.

Authorities froze frames of the video where a running Mway appears to point the gun at the pursuing officers. Police also edited the video to insert a red circle around the weapon to show it to viewers.

The officers believed it was a handgun, police said, but it was later determined to be a replica of a Glock 17 Gen 5 handgun with a detachable magazine.

His replica gun was “in all aspects a realistic appearing firearm with GLOCK markings, signatures, detachable magazine, and serial numbers,” Lt. Michael Curley, a police spokesperson, told the Associated Press. “However ultimately it fires only pellets or BB’s.”

Utica Police Chief Mark Williams told CBS he holds the manufacturers partially responsible for the 13-year-old’s death, saying: “These guns should not be made and manufactured to the exact replica of a real handgun. They gotta know that eventually these weapons are going to fall in the hands of young kids.”

Lindsay Nichols, policy director of the Giffords Law Center, shared the sentiment, telling the outlet “All the people that die in this fashion don’t need to die.”

“It’s completely preventable if there are simply safety standards and if the industry can be held accountable in court,” Nichols added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.