Student Teacher Kristen Volpe Arrested After Snapchat Message Triggers FBI Alert

On January 29, 2025, 22‑year‑old student teacher Kristen Volpe was completing her placement at John L. Hensey Elementary School in Washington, Illinois. After a student interrupted her lesson and erased her lesson plan, Volpe sent a private Snapchat group message to her boyfriend and two roommates joking about shooting the child or the school.

Snapchat’s automated safety system flagged the language as a potential threat and generated an emergency report that was sent to the FBI. The FBI relayed the alert to the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office, and deputies arrived at the school roughly one hour after the message was posted. Volpe was arrested on a disorderly‑conduct charge, booked, and released the next day on a $0 bond. Investigators found no weapons, no credible threat, and the school district terminated her placement. The case later moved toward a deferred‑prosecution program, highlighting how Snapchat’s AI can trigger law‑enforcement action without a warrant.