A mountain of crime

The thieves come at night, when Jaffar Ismail, 57, is alone. The caretaker of the Muslim kramat on Signal Hill locks himself indoors after sunset, armed with a paintball gun powerful enough to bruise. The gun is heavy, metallic and takes pepper bullets - a self-defence weapon, not a toy.Ismail has shot at the thieves a few times, registered a single hit, but they keep returning.