COMMENT | The mass shooting at Bondi Beach, Australia, and the attack at Brown University in the United States are no longer just tragedies to be mourned; they are warnings that demand serious, even uncomfortable, reflection.

These incidents did not occur on battlefields or at hardened government targets.

They unfolded in places defined by openness: a beachside celebration and a university exam hall - spaces meant to symbolise safety, normalcy, and shared civic life.

Their significance lies not only in the number of casualties, but in what they reveal about how modern violence...