A former classmate of Craigieburn teen Jake Bilardi, who is believed to have died in an Islamic State suicide bombing, has described his death as tragic.
Jamie Kassan, who attended Craigieburn Secondary College with Mr Bilardi, said he was shocked to hear of the reported death in Iraq.
“It certainly hurts to know someone you know has taken their life,” he said.
Another former classmate said Mr Bilardi became withdrawn after his mother’s death in 2012.
The gifted maths student dropped out of school last year before fleeing the home where he lived with his siblings.
Craigieburn college principal Kate Morphy said the 18-year-old left the school at the end of year 11 in 2013. He then attended Rosehill Secondary College in Niddrie, where principal Peter Rouse described his attendance as “sporadic”.
After dropping out of school, Mr Bilardi bought a one-way ticket to Turkey, before heading to Iraq and Syria to fight for IS.
He had written a string of blog posts describing plans to attack cafes, shopping centres and consulates in Melbourne with knives, bombs and grenades.
Late last week, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the government was trying to independently verify the teen’s death.
His passport was cancelled in October last year.
Lexi Cottee, with The Age
