The occurrence of violent crimes in university settings, particularly homicide, is not merely an individual criminal act but rather a manifestation of structural gaps within formal and informal prevention systems, as well as an indication of the weakening of socialization capacities within higher education institutions. This study, focusing on the murder of a student in the male dormitory of Tehran University, seeks to analyze this incident through the lens of critical criminology, environmental criminology, and political philosophy. The theoretical framework, drawing on Merton’s strain theory, Hirschi’s social bond theory, and Akers’ social learning theory, aims to demonstrate how violence is reproduced within closed and socially isolated environments such as dormitories.  The research methodology is qualitative, relying on document analysis, media content, law enforcement data, and findings from urban criminology studies. The results indicate that the accumulation of economic pressures, rupture of supportive social bonds, normalization of violence in male relationships, and poor design of dormitory spaces collectively contribute to creating criminogenic conditions. From a critical perspective, the state’s failure to implement redistributive policies and its disregard for spatial justice have resulted in university environments that not only fail to serve as safe havens for growth and socialization but have themselves become potential crime-producing spaces. This study underscores the urgent need for a radical reconsideration of preventive policies, advocating for an integrated approach that combines environmental, social, and cultural strategies to rebuild the security resilience of universities—resilience that cannot be achieved without fundamental transformation in broader cultural and political structures.