Nazi-obsessed teenage girl who called herself the ’embodiment of hell’ is jailed for 15 years for axe attack on stranger

A Nazi-obsessed teenage girl who called herself ‘hell incarnate’ and carried out an axe-wielding attack on a stranger outside a barber’s shop has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

Alina Burns, then 18, tried to repeatedly hit 27-year-old Iranian Kurd Mohammed Mahmoodi with a gun in Bedminster, Bristol, on 2 August 2025.

Barber shop security cameras, BHK, captured Burns swinging an ax from behind at Mr Mahmoodi’s neck while chatting with a friend. When he realized what was happening, Mr. Mahmoodi turned and ducked, missing the sword from very close.

Burns, whose head was shaved and wearing a black padded jacket, went to attack his victim again but was stopped when Mr Mahmoodi grabbed his hand and pulled out the axe.

Police arrested Burns at the scene, who left Mr Mahmoodi with three scratches on his neck and cheek, and found Burns also carrying a scalpel and a set of darts.

Bristol Crown Court heard Burns shared his violent ‘plan’ with a man he met on a dating site who alerted police to his concerns months before the August attack. This included a desire to ‘kill’ British Jews and Muslims.

Burns, who is in contact with the far-right group Patriotic Alternative, emailed the man he met on the Duolicious dating site: ‘I have realized my role in existence: I am hell incarnate, destined to destroy everything sacred I have ever witnessed.’

The teenager talked about putting a ‘plan’ into action and said he wanted ‘all the praise and fame’, adding that it was his ‘purpose/meaning in life’.

Burns swung an ax at Mr Mahmoodi’s neck while chatting with a friend outside BHK Barbers

In a second email on March 20 last year, Burns wrote: ‘I no longer want to end my life. ‘I plan to bring change to the UK in ways I cannot detail.’

After the man said he would do anything for her, the court heard the woman replied: ‘Yes, I shared too much for that. ‘Please kill all Jews and Muslims in Britain.’

When Burns responded, he said it wouldn’t solve anything: ‘No, it would solve a lot of things. I’m serious, do it. I think it is much more important to be a catalyst for change in my country. ‘I need to be a force for something, to influence the outcome of history.’

Detectives discovered Burns had exchanged a number of messages with the Patriotic Alternative group and was investigating ‘UK plans’.

Patriotic Alternative was founded in 2019 by neo-Nazi Mark Collett, who called for a ‘racially pure white society’ and led the youth wing of the British National Party before the party expelled him.

The court was told the group called for an end to immigration and the ‘repatriation’ of non-whites and Jews to their ‘ancestral homelands’.

Seized diaries and notebooks belonging to Burns revealed ‘numerous details’ about weapons used by the Nazi SS and German military units in the Second World War.

The court heard Burns searched the internet on July 30 for topics such as “at what age can you buy an ax in the UK”, “is an ax a good weapon for home defence” and “how to properly use an ax for self defence”.

Burns, who shaved his head and wore a black padded jacket, was caught on security cameras before the attack.

Security cameras inside barber shop BHK capture Burns carrying out ax attack on Mr Mahmoodi

The next day, Burns researched videos on YouTube; including one featuring Patrick Cruisius: ‘The deranged mass murderer who became a meme.’

Cruisius killed 23 people in a mass shooting at a Walmart supermarket targeting Latinos in El Paso, Texas.

The email he wrote to himself on August 1, the day before the attack, was titled: ‘Dawn of civil war.’ The letter said: ‘The land has been reclaimed through terror’ and it would be ‘better for them to flee in fear than to displace us in our own home’.

The court heard from the night before the attack; Using her laptop, the woman watched a YouTube video of an SS march in Nazi Germany and posted on the platform ‘How to fight with an axe: combat lesson 1 – defeat the enemy.’ He searched for a video titled.

A number of graphic ‘gory’ videos were also sought, including footage of a man being fatally stabbed in the neck, women stabbing other people and footage of how to use darts as a weapon.

Other searches included copies of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, the far-right Turner Diaries, about race war, and a search for Turkish Barbers in Bristol.

Prosecutor Serena Gates KC said Burns had a “desire for a white England that could be achieved through terror if necessary”.

It was stated that Burns, who lives with his parents and younger siblings, “is likely to have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)” and has thoughts of harming himself.

Burns, who was photographed during his interview with police, told his parole officer after his arrest that he planned to kill his victim ‘or persons of similar nationality who were selling counterfeit or expired products’.

Although both his parents were teachers, he stopped going to school at the age of 14. The court heard his family were left homeless and living in a series of temporary accommodation.

On the day of the attack, Burns told his father he was going to a bookstore and instead went to Screw Fix to buy an axe.

During an evaluation by a mental health professional, Burns said he spent about a week coming up with a plan and asked if the attack was “in the news yet.”

He said he wanted to ‘influence people to do the same thing but be successful’ and when asked if he had any thoughts or plans to harm others, he said he would ‘go ahead again but be successful’.

Following his arrest, Burns told his parole officer that he planned to kill his victim ‘or persons of similar nationality who were selling counterfeit or expired products’ and that they were ‘an insult to the streets and the police should take them out’.

Mr Mahmoodi escaped with three painful scratches on his neck and cheek.

In a victim personal statement, Mr Mahmoodi said he came to the UK seeking the ‘safety, freedom and protection’ he did not have at home and was still living with the mental effects of the attack.

Burns pleaded guilty to three charges of attempted murder and carrying a bladed weapon in public.

Judge Miss Justice Lambert sentenced Burns to 15 years and six months in prison and four years on extended licence, on Friday.

He told Burns he continued to show ‘entrenched hostility’ towards homosexuals and had recently destroyed books in the prison library.

He added: ‘By continuing to justify violence you run a high risk of causing serious harm to the public, particularly racial minorities.’

Detective Superintendent Sarah Robbins, of South West Counter Terrorism Policing, said: ‘It is extremely fortunate that this vicious attack, which saw an ax swung around an innocent man’s neck, did not result in loss of life.

‘We believe that Burns carried out this terrible attack due to his distorted beliefs and extreme mentality. From everything we know and the evidence we have collected, we believe he targeted the victim because he perceived her to be either an immigrant, an ethnicity he despised, or both.

‘We are grateful for the support we have received from the public during this investigation and will continue to work closely with Avon and Somerset Police to reassure those affected, both the victim and the local community.’