Kristjan Lill, senior prosecutor at the Northern District Prosecutor's Office, said people do not understand the danger and power of these weapons. He cited a case in Tapa last month, where a man was killed after being shot in the head with an air gun during a conflict.

"There's this impression that these things are somehow toys — but they really aren't. For example, we don't have any specific limit on the muzzle energy — that is, the energy with which a projectile exits the barrel — for air guns. So it's entirely possible for an air gun to have a muzzle energy of 20 joules, which is enough for a pellet to penetrate plywood," Lill explained.

"This is definitely a real problem. Unfortunately, we've also had tragic cases where the use of an air gun has ended fatally," the prosecutor added.

Hisko Vares, head of the personal crimes division at the Northern Prefecture's criminal bureau, agreed, noting that items resembling real firearms — such as air guns, toy guns and starter pistols — are becoming a growing problem in Estonia each year. A large portion of these items are designed to look nearly identical to actual firearms.

"Gun owners know they're not allowed to display their weapons in public. A firearm must be covered and concealed, except for police officers and members of the military in uniform. But ordinary buyers of signal pistols and air guns often don't know this, which is why they wave them around in the street," said Vares.

"Another major issue is how easy it is to convert these starter pistols. The criminal underworld is already using them extensively. We seize at least one converted starter pistol every week. These weapons are extremely dangerous and we urgently need to begin regulating them in some way."

Vares noted that the PPA received over 1,500 calls last year related to sightings or suspicions of someone handling a firearm. He added that the Northern Prefecture alone has already launched 10 criminal investigations this year involving illegal firearms.

Both Vares and Lill said that weapons and their realistic replicas should not be sold in ordinary shops but only in specialized gun stores.

"Our expectation and hope is that some kind of power restrictions will be introduced for air guns. Right now, we essentially have no such limits. We'd also like to see an online training format implemented, followed by a written test. Once the test is passed, a prospective gun owner could then purchase an air gun from a gun shop using their ID card," Lill said.

The Prosecutor's Office also wants realistic-looking mock weapons to be made in bright colors. "So that we don't end up with one-to-one copies of real firearms on toy store shelves, where even children can buy them."

The average air rifle available for purchase over the counter fires pellets with a force of about 25 joules. By comparison, airsoft guns used in military simulation games operate at between 1 and 2.5 joules, yet can still cause serious injury.

The Ministry of the Interior has already started taking steps to restrict the sale and use of air guns, starter pistols and replica weapons. While experts have generally supported limiting the number of points of sale, the proposed power limit for air guns would effectively ban most models currently on the market.

As of April, the government planned to submit a preliminary draft of legislative intent for amending the Weapons Act for interagency review this summer.

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