Overview
- Burns was sentenced Friday at Bristol Crown Court to 15-and-a-half years in custody plus four years on licence after the judge accepted a terrorist motive and deemed her a dangerous offender.
- Burns, who attacked on August 2, 2025, swung an axe at Mohammed Mahmoodi’s neck outside his Bedminster barbershop, causing small wounds before he disarmed her and a nearby officer arrested her.
- Police and prosecutors presented messages urging a man to “kill all Jews and Muslims,” notes on explosives, Nazi texts including Mein Kampf and The Turner Diaries, and Telegram chats with the far-right group Patriotic Alternative.
- Mahmoodi, an Iranian Kurd who sought asylum in the UK, said he now lives in fear, struggles with neck pain, and wakes from nightmares about being attacked from behind.
- Counter-terrorism police said Burns chose the victim based on extremist views about immigrants, and a separate terrorism-preparation charge was left on file as the court used the terrorism finding to justify the extended term.