Alina Burns' Father Blames Police, Camhs Failures After 15-Year Terror Sentence
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 4
Alina Burns' Father Blames Police, Camhs Failures After 15-Year Terror Sentence
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 4
Summary
Luke Burns said police and mental health services failed his 19-year-old daughter before she was jailed for at least 15 years and six months for trying to murder Kurdish barber Mohammed Mahmoodi in a terrorism-motivated axe attack.
He said the family learned only after the August attack that police had received a report months earlier alleging she urged a man on a dating app to "kill all Jews and Muslims," but counter-terrorism officers took no further action.
Burns also said his autistic daughter, who has anorexia, was abandoned by services after Camhs involvement ended and was returned home without a care plan four months before the attempted murder despite welfare concerns.
Avon and Somerset Police said its handling had been thoroughly investigated and found acceptable, while Counter Terrorism Policing South West said a post-attack review identified learning even though the earlier messages did not meet the threshold for an investigation.
The case has sharpened scrutiny of how police, schools and mental health agencies respond when vulnerable teenagers show signs of rapid far-right radicalisation.
Police were warned about a teen neo-Nazi months before her attack. Why did they fail to act?
When mental health services fail a teen, are they creating the next terrorist?
Sentenced to 15 Years: How Systemic Failures Enabled Alina Burns’ Far-Right Axe Attack
Overview
In May 2026, Alina Burns, a teenager with a troubled childhood marked by homelessness and early withdrawal from school, was sentenced to over 15 years in jail for the unprovoked axe attack on Mohammed Mahmoodi. Driven by extremist far-right ideology, Burns's actions followed years of increasing isolation and missed opportunities for intervention by mental health, educational, and policing authorities. The case exposed critical failures in safeguarding vulnerable individuals, highlighting how systemic gaps and lack of coordinated support allowed her radicalisation to escalate into violence, sparking urgent calls for reform and greater community vigilance against extremism.