May 27 (UPI) — Retailer Walmart will pay a $16,000 fine for shipping realistic toy guns to New York buyers in violation of state law, state Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday.

New York law bans retailers from selling or shipping toy guns that are black, dark blue, silver or aluminum-colored and resemble real firearms.

“Realistic-looking toy guns can put communities in serious danger,” James said in a news release. “That is why they are banned.”

She said realistic-looking toy guns can be used to engage in unlawful activity and have led to several deaths and shootings across the state and Walmart’s third-party sellers sold them to New York buyers.

“Walmart failed to prevent its third-party sellers from selling realistic-looking toy guns to New York addresses, violating our laws and putting people at risk,” James said.

“The ban on realistic-looking toy guns is meant to keep New Yorkers safe,” she added. “My office will not hesitate to hold any business that violates that law accountable.”

A state investigation showed third-party retailers used Walmart’s online store to sell non-compliant toy guns that they shipped to New York addresses via Walmart’s fulfillment services.

Investigators bought a realistic-looking toy gun that violated New York’s general business law’s ban on such toys and had it shipped to an address within the state.

The violations netted a $16,000 fine that Walmart paid to settle the matter.

A Walmart official said the retailer does its best to comply with respective state and federal laws and ensure third-party retailers do, too.

“We are committed to complying with all laws, and we have processes in place to ensure products offered for sale by third-party sellers on our marketplace comply with all applicable laws as well,” Walmart global communications senior manager Kelly Hellbusch told UPI in an emailed statement.

James said New York consumers can report non-compliant toy guns by reporting them in an online complaint.