this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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Student Teacher Sent a Private Snapchat Complaining About Her Workday. An Hour Later, Police Pulled Up to Her School. (www.gadgetreview.com)
submitted 1 day ago by spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works to c/technology@lemmy.world
407 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Sixty minutes. That’s how long it took for a private Snapchat message to travel from Kristen Volpe’s phone to the FBI to the deputies standing in her elementary school hallway. On January 29, 2025, the 22-year-old student teacher at John L. Hensey Elementary in Washington, Illinois, vented to her boyfriend and two roommates — three people total — after a student closed her laptop mid-class and wiped her lesson plan. She referenced shooting the student or the school. She meant it as a frustrated joke. Snapchat’s algorithm didn’t get the humor.

No student reported her. No parent. No coworker. The flag was entirely automated. Snapchat’s policy permits voluntary emergency disclosures to law enforcement — no warrant required — when the platform determines imminent harm exists. The algorithm makes that initial call. Think of it like your Ring doorbell deciding to call 911 on its own, except the doorbell is reading your text messages.

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[–] Redditmodstouchgrass@lemmy.zip -1 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 14 minutes ago) (4 children)

Yeah, I can't feel bad for her. If you're a teacher in the USA, you should NEVER be "joking" about shooting your students!

Edit: JFC, it's like trying to tell a southerner not to say the hard R. "Why can't I say it? I have free speech don't I?"

[–] matlag@sh.itjust.works 34 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

You can joke about everything, but not with everyone.

She was venting to her boyfriend. It was never meant to become public, or shared in a group, or anyone but her boyfriend, who, lets be bold and assume, knows her enough to assess if she's really joking or she's having a nervous breakdown.

So yes: the one and only issue here, is a Snapchat conversation is never a 1:1 conversation, nor are Instagram, Whatsapp, FB Messenger and what not discussions.

Putting the blame on her is normalizing global surveillance.

[–] Hjalamanger@feddit.nu 1 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

Isn't WhatsApp end to end encrypted?

[–] jabjoe@feddit.uk 7 points 19 hours ago

If it is (can't look at the source can we), it is only is as long as they choose it to be. It's removal is always just one update away.

[–] mofongo@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

She's 22, she spent her whole life in shooting drills at school. She might have survived one herself. That's a generational experience similar to the Millennial suicide jokes. The solution is societal, not this.

[–] Redditmodstouchgrass@lemmy.zip -1 points 12 hours ago

She's talking about shooting CHILDREN, you absolute psychopath!

[–] oce@jlai.lu 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Did you never say you want to "murder/shoot" someone out of frustration or as a joke to a close one? Imagine the FBI coming for you because of that.

[–] Redditmodstouchgrass@lemmy.zip 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

I definitely haven't said that about a child. Absolutely not if I was a teacher. You people are fucking weird.

If she was a teenage incel y'all would be all over this saying she should be in prison.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 0 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

I am really surprised this shocks you. By curiosity which culture are you from?
I think I can find countless comedy tv show scenes where some character says something like "ugh I am going to kill him" to show frustration, but it's perfectly obvious it's just an expression.

[–] Redditmodstouchgrass@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Again, she's a fucking elementary school teacher! That is not an acceptable "joke" from someone like that.

And I'm american btw. I don't think we should be normalizing school teachers making mass shooting jokes. That is absolutely not the same as a fictional character reading from a script.

[–] Vetis@sh.itjust.works 4 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Even with your close friends in a private chat ?

[–] Redditmodstouchgrass@lemmy.zip -5 points 19 hours ago

I would argue no. I dont want cops talking about shooting jaywalkers either, and I'd say a teacher should be more sensitive.