A 19-year-old neo-Nazi obsessed teenager who tried to behead a Kurdish barber with an axe has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison. Alina Burns attacked Mohammed Mahmoodi, 27, outside his shop in Bedminster, Bristol, in August last year.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Burns was motivated by far-right extremism and had expressed a desire to 'kill all Jews and Muslims' on a dating app. She had also searched online for information about jihad, the 2024 Southport stabbings, and Nazi Germany.
Prosecutor Serena Gates KC told the court that Burns had an extreme right-wing mindset and wanted non-whites to flee or be expelled from the UK. The day before the attack, she had watched videos of SS marches and sent an email titled 'The dawn of civil war'.
Burns admitted attempted murder and three charges of possessing a bladed article, including an axe, a scalpel, and two darts. She denied a charge of preparing terrorist acts, but the judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, accepted that the attack had a terrorist motivation.
Sentencing Burns to 15 and a half years in custody with an additional four-year licence period, the judge described her as a 'dangerous offender' deeply entrenched in her abnormal belief system. The court also heard that Burns had been in contact with the far-right group Patriotic Alternative via Telegram.
Defence barrister Andrew Langdon KC said Burns had a difficult childhood, with her family made homeless and living in temporary accommodation. Despite both parents being teachers, she stopped attending full-time education at 14.
