Teen-Age War Games Flirt With Frontier of Danger : The Border: Youths carrying fake arms do mock battle in canyons near U.S.-Mexico line, where real-life violence is routine.

Armed with guns that shoot paint and BBs, a few dozen teen-agers regularly play war games in the darkened canyons near the U.S.-Mexico border. The participants belong to groups with names such as Metal Militia or Sudden Death and regularly do battle starting about 9 Saturday nights.

“I do it to prepare for my future in the military,” said Jason MacAllister, a 17-year-old Imperial Beach resident. “And, yeah, it’s fun, it’s really fun.”

The teens act on their own, without adult supervision, in an area that is riddled with violence. Border Patrol agents encountered the groups at least three times in December and January and say the youths pose a twofold danger: Their guns could be mistaken for real by agents in the canyons or they could be hurt by criminals prowling the region.

“Obviously, it’s dark and we can’t tell in the dark whether those are real guns. The danger is . . . if they come at one agent waving one of those guns,” said Ted Swofford, spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. “And there are an awful lot of bandits in that area. We get assaults, rapes and robberies on a fairly regular basis. I sure wouldn’t want my kids out there.”

In the past two years, law enforcement officers have killed eight people while patrolling the border area, said Lt. Gary Learn of the San Diego Police Department’s homicide unit. In 1988, five homicides were reported; more recent figures are unavailable.

Non-fatal shootings are not uncommon. In one recent case, a controversial shooting involving police left a 17-year-old Mexican boy paralyzed. The youth wielded a screwdriver and the Border Crime Intervention officers mistook it for a weapon.

But MacAllister and other boys said they do not worry about their safety.

“If you are in Vietnam, you should be scared. But this is not Vietnam,” said 15-year-old David, who declined to give his last name.

The boys play war games instead of cowboys-and-Indians. The groups have officers, such as MacAllister, who has attained the rank of “colonel.” For them, Sylvester Stallone is a hero. In their mock battles, those who are shot must drop and be counted as dead. Surviving in the underbrush is more important than winning at Space Invaders.

But parents are concerned. David’s mother, who also declined to give her name, said she worries but has confidence that her ninth-grade son can take care of himself.

“At first, I didn’t like it,” said MacAllister’s mother, who declined to use her first name. “I can’t really get used to it. But either he goes out there with my permission or he goes out there without it. I’m stuck--I taught him to be independent. I wish I could be there to guard him, but I can’t.”

Most of the boys come from South Bay high schools. Eight attend Mar Vista High, said school principal Jaime Mercado, who added that the school does not encourage nor support the boys’ activities.

“It’s stupid and ridiculous and utterly non-thinking to allow your son to be out there, even if it’s nothing but war games, which apparently are popular,” Mercado said.

Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego) said police and Border Patrol officials, who have encountered the teen-agers, should discuss the boys’ activities with parents and school officials.

“They should tell parents and schools that is not appropriate for the kids to be in that area, and that there is great danger,” Bates said. “I don’t think they should be there at all--and certainly not playing war in uniform and armed.”

In letters, Bates last week asked San Diego Police Chief Bob Burgreen and Sweetwater Union High School District Supt. Anthony Trujillo to investigate the activities.

The Border Patrol’s encounters with the youths occurred around Dairy Mart Road, about 3 miles from the border crossing. The first time, on Dec. 9, the agents mistook the 12 youths for illegal aliens, said Lt. Bill Brown of the Southern Division of the San Diego Police Department.

The youths, whose ages range from 13 to 18, were dressed in camouflage and toting plastic pistols, air guns, nunchakus , knives and slingshots, according to Dale Cozart, Chief Patrol Agent with INS. The teen-agers, encountered at 10 p.m., said they were playing war.

Four days later, border agents came across seven youths carrying air guns. Then, on Jan. 28, agents found another group, playing war games at 3 a.m.

The teens violated the city’s curfew law, which prohibits youngsters under 18 from being outside unsupervised by adults from 10 p.m. to dawn unless participating in school-related functions. But, on each occasion, police released the youngsters.

“To me, it’s just kids playing out a game that many adults enjoy--it’s their version of tactical maneuvers,” said Lt. Bill Brown, second-in-command at Southern Command, which patrols the area. “It’s never caused anyone harm.”

But, on a recent Saturday afternoon, one Imperial Beach resident said he was frightened when he came across three youths toting play guns, wearing camouflage outfits and face paint.

Michael Schnorr, an instructor at Southwestern College, said one youth whirled and pointed a pistol at him. When he yelled at the boys, they ran into the bushes. Schnorr said teen-agers have played war in the area for 10 years.

Tonight, Fox Television Stations is scheduled to air a report on border violence, concentrating on “secret para-military groups,” according to a press release. The network’s “The Reporters” show alleges that “Rambo-like” gangs shoot and harass undocumented workers. In the program, a number of youths are seen rounding up Mexicans.

MacAllister and others, however, say the “Reporters” crew asked them to rough up Mexicans and their group members do not shoot or bother undocumented workers. They say some groups, not theirs, do harass Mexicans.

“We don’t touch illegal aliens,” said MacAllister, who has played war for two years in the border area. “We tell them it’s dangerous and they should leave. Maybe we give them a drink of water if they ask for it. Sometimes, they scare us, they pop out of nowhere.”

Gerald Stone, executive producer of “The Reporters,” says he stands behind the program.

“We are quite disturbed by any claim that we sensationalize what happens. From the footage, it’s quite clear they (the teen-agers) were using procedures that they used a number of times before. We are fairly well-trained to separate fact from fiction, and it’s clear to us that the footage is realistic,” he said.

Police and INS officials say they don’t believe the teen-agers are harassing Mexicans who attempt to cross the border.

“If someone is taking vigilante action, the San Diego Police Department would not tolerate it and would do everything it could to stop it,” Brown said. “There have never been any reports of camouflaged youths accosting illegal aliens or that there were any vigilante actions.”

In a letter to Bates, Cozart of the INS said: “The Border Patrol has not received any reports of individuals playing ‘war games’ who were using force to approach undocumented persons.”

The 28 members of Metal Militia usually meet every Saturday night. The boys, ranging from 13 to 21 years old, divide themselves up into teams and take off into the underbrush. Some are recruits, others, have played the game for years. Eddie Smith, 18, said he has played war games for five years.

The boys have different reasons for joining. Rodrigo Vazcones is a 15-year-old ninth-grader from Mar Vista. Vazcones, who has been involved with the group for three months, said that he likes the thrill of “going into the war zone” and that it helps him avoid doing chores at home.

But many of the others, like David, want to join the military when they get older.

“It’s getting us ready for our future,” said David, who hopes to become a Marine. The group learns how to read a map, build shelters and find food, such as insects, said David, who added that he had never actually eaten any bugs.

However, Senior Chief Petty Officer Bob Howard, a Navy spokesman, said: “I guess they are in some way preparing themselves for conflicts that would have occurred 60 years ago, but we don’t have a whole lot of call in the service these days for those skills. I’d much rather have a kid who stayed home and did his homework.”