The Tragic True Story Of The Classroom Suicide Behind Pearl Jam's 'Jeremy'

The Tragic True Story Of The Classroom Suicide Behind Pearl Jam's 'Jeremy'

On January 8th, 1991, Jeremy Delle walked into his sophomore English class at Richardson High School in northern Texas, retrieved a Smith & Wesson revolver from his backpack, and shot himself in the head in front of his classmates. The incident inspired Eddie Vedder to pen "Jeremy" — but his family says the infamous Pearl Jam song couldn't be further from the truth. Jeremy Delle shot himself in front of his classmates at Richardson High School in Texas on January 8, 1991. He left a suicide note with a friend but police never revealed the contents. According to reports which circulated at the time, he got up in front of the class at 9.45am after being told to fetch an admittance slip for missing class. When he returned, he said: 'Miss, I got what I really went for,' and fired a 357-caliber Magnum in his mouth. He was living with his father, his parents were divorced and he had been in counseling at the school which he was also new to. Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, who is now worth an estimated $90million alone, saw a newspaper article about his death and the story made its way onto their 1991 debut album Ten. To accompany it, they made a controversial music video which reconstructed his suicide and portrayed him as a frustrated, confused teen who was being ignored at home and bullied at school. Jeremy's mother Wanda Crane said nothing of the notoriety it brought her son after his death as she was interviewed this week by local network WFAA. She however said she did not want his suicide to define him. 'That day that he died did not define his life. He was a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a friend. He was talented,' she said. At first, she did not believe the news. 'I was in shock - not my son. I was going to pick him up that afternoon at school,' she said. She did not think about the fact that he had committed the act in front of his peers, saying: 'I didn't think about. You literally go into a fog.' Today, as she watches more and more mass shootings happening at schools across the country, she says she always wishes she could reach the mothers of those killed. 'I think of the mothers, I think of the sisters, I think what it'll be said or what opinions will be thought about the student. 'It's the mothers and the sisters that I want to wrap my arms around and tell them that some day it'll be better,' she said. Brittany King, Jeremy's friend who witnessed his death, said she was angry when Pearl Jam released their song because it did not accurately portray what happened, she said. In the song, the band describe a boy whose 'daddy didn't give attention' and whose 'mommy didn't care'. The video shows him running wildly through woods, screaming and being ignored at home by his parents. There is also a suggestion that is confused about his sexuality and gender given in the form of him struggling to choose between two pictures - one of a man's suit and the other of a woman's dress. King said it was nothing like her friend and that the suicide did not pan out as was suggested. 'I was angry at them for writing that song I thought, you don't know, "You weren't there. '"That story's not accurate."' She recalled huddling at the back of the classroom after he pulled the trigger and then turning to look at his body despite her instincts telling her not to. 'Shock and fear went into my mind. All the students, we ran to the back of the room and kind of huddled together. "'Should I look?" I remember thinking that, "should I look?" And I did, I looked. And out of just, I don't know why I looked but I did. I'll never forget it.' She said his death was a 'wake up call' that forced her to mature. This was a big wake-up call. Like, you know what? Life is not all hunky dory all the time. Real things, tragedies happen.

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