In the early morning of September 3, 2026, the massacre in Binh Minh commune (Dong Nai) that left 4 people in a family injured and killed (including 3 deaths and 1 seriously injured) shocked public opinion. Just because he was broken up with by his girlfriend D. T. P. A. (17 years old), Nguyen Duc Anh (21 years old) brought a knife to break into her house at midnight but failed. Being discovered by his girlfriend's father blocking the door, the subject threatened to kill the whole family and then climbed over the roof of the house next door, attacked Mr. N.V.Q. (40 years old) and brutally killed his wife and two young children (11 years old and 1 year old) even though they were completely unacquainted or had conflicts.
The heartbreaking case is not only a criminal tragedy but also raises a red alarm about emotional violence in young people. From a sociological perspective, M.A. Nguyen Duy Hai (lecturer of Sociology Department, Van Hien University) deeply analyzed this psychological - social distortion, and pointed out the right solutions to accompany and protect children for parents.
Dating violence from the illusion of "ownership
According to MSc. Nguyen Duy Hai, the first thing to change in awareness is the way to name the essence of the matter. It is necessary to seriously recognize this as a problem of violence in emotional relationships, absolutely should not be simplified into romanticized phrases such as "love too much becomes crazy". In fact, most young people have been heartbroken, jealous or rejected, but do not become violent because of that. The dangerous difference lies in the fact that a part of the individual has agreed on love with ownership, not accepting that the other person has the right to say "no" or the right to end the relationship.
From a sociological perspective, extremist thinking in the style of "if you don't have it, destroy it" is formed from many resonance factors. That is the lack of education about love from family and school; is a misconception about masculinity, ego and honor; poor emotional control, lack of skills to face failure and early breakdown.
Besides, the online environment and media products are having a negative impact when excessive jealousy, clinging to or controlling are sometimes still romanticized as evidence of love. This distorts the perception of young people, causing them to forget the principle: everyone has the right to suffer when broken up, but does not have the right to turn their pain into punishment for others.
Therefore, MSc. Nguyen Duy Hai emphasized that violence prevention must start very early. Schools should not just stop at passive prohibition advice like "don't love early". Instead, it is necessary to teach students about healthy relationships, consensus, how to respect personal boundaries, accept refusals and skills to handle emotional conflicts.
Accompanying and protecting children and linking residential area safety
When children are at the age of adolescence and early adulthood, the emergence of feelings is inevitable. MSc. Nguyen Duy Hai believes that instead of trying to brutally control who their children love, parents need to play the role of skillful companions to help their children recognize early "danger signs" or violent tendencies from their lovers.
Parents need to guide their children to pay attention to harmful control signs such as: the other person frequently checking their phone, making them report schedules, isolating children from friends, insulting, threatening, following or reacting violently when asked to break up. In particular, experts warn that when a relationship has a threat to harm, prepared weapons or tried to invade the residence, parents should absolutely not see it as "two children being angry with each other". This is already a matter of life safety. At this time, family intervention is mandatory, because respecting children's choice does not mean standing aside when children are threatened.
In addition, the case in Dong Nai also raises the requirement to improve self-defense, vigilance and safety linkages in residential areas against random risks. MSc. Nguyen Duy Hai recommends a two-pronged prevention solution, combining physical factors and human linkages.
From a physical perspective, families need to protect themselves by carefully checking the locking system, windows, and terraces; increase lighting and security cameras in necessary locations. From a social perspective, maintaining close links between neighboring households is extremely necessary to recognize abnormal signs and promptly report them. However, people should absolutely not directly confront people who are likely to carry weapons.
