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[np_storybar title=”Ottawa student believed to be fighting for ISIS was smart, funny and loved punk rock: classmates” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/27/ottawa-student-believed-to-be-fighting-for-isis-was-smart-funny-and-loved-punk-rock-classmates/”]

Before he felt the pull of Syria’s Islamic extremists, before he started going by the name “Yahya,” and before he found his self-described “opportunity for martyrdom,” John Maguire was just another Kemptville, Ont., teenager whose sharp wit sometimes got him into trouble.

Former classmate Evan Massey remembers being kicked out of class with Mr. Maguire — known to his peers as “JMag” — who teased him when he struggled to read something aloud during Grade 11 English.

John Maguire’s photo in the North Grenville District High School yearbook for 2005-2006.

In the halls and classrooms of North Grenville District High School, Mr. Maguire was far from the strident, opinionated loner those who knew him later in life describe: He was smart, funny and sarcastic.

He and a friend would routinely read the morning announcements over the school’s intercom, throwing in a few inappropriate inside jokes and calling out the principal for not standing up during Oh, Canada. He was involved in student council. He got 80s on his report card.

But he also played his cards close to his chest. “He kept to himself about a lot of things that were either important or things that bugged him,” Mr. Massey remembered. His parents divorced when he was in his early teens, when his love for punk rock flourished.