Who shot Ghost in COD Modern Warfare 2?

Modified Jun 04, 2024 03:54 GMT

Ghost in Modern Warfare 2 (Image via Activision)

In the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), Ghost was shot by General Shepherd. In the game's campaign mission 'Loose Ends', General Shepherd shot Ghost and Roach, eventually burning them away to tie up all the "loose ends." This came as a shock to players and seemed unreasonable at the time. However, this event was a part of General Shepherd's sinister plans all along.

So, what was General Shepherd's role and why did he end up killing Ghost? Keep reading for a brief explanation of what went down in one of Modern Warfare 2's most shocking missions.

Why did General Shepherd shoot Ghost in COD Modern Warfare 2?

General Shepherd shoots Ghost in Modern Warfare 2 to cover up his tracks (Image via Activision)

General Shepherd shoots Ghost in COD Modern Warfare 2 to cover up his role in the war waged in the campaign between Russia and America. In the title's campaign mission 'Loose Ends', General Shepherd sends Ghost and Roach, along with a couple of other soldiers, to a safe house located on the Georgian-Russian border to find Makarov.

However, Ghost doesn't find Makarov in the safe house. Instead, he finds a ton of intel on Makarov, which is stored in a DSM.

Ghost calls it a "gold mine." As he retrieves the intel, he and his team are attacked by Makarov's men. They make their way out of the safe house and to the extraction point, where General Shepherd and his men provide cover fire to ensure Ghost and Roach make it out alive with the DSM.

As the pair reaches the location, General Shepherd takes the DSM and, without a single thought, shoots Roach and then Ghost. This is followed by a short clip of his men burning the bodies of the two.

So, why did he shoot them? Well, to answer that we have to go back to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. In the game, Makarov detonated a nuke that killed over 40,000 of General Shepherd's soldiers. General Shepherd was devastated by this event and wanted to end Makarov himself. This was a personal revenge for him.

So, in Modern Warfare 2, General Shepherd sends a U.S. Soldier, Private Allen, as a secret agent to join Makarov. What follows after this is the infamous 'No Russian' mission, where Makarov, along with Private Allen and two other terrorists, shoot down civilians in an airport. As the four are about to leave the airport, Makarov shoots Allen and leaves his body on the scene.

No Russian mission in Modern Warfare 2 (Image via Activision)

Upon investigation by the Russian authorities, it is found that Pvt. Allen is an American. This means the terrorist attack at the airport was the Americans' doing. This results in World War 3.

However, this is exactly what General Shepherd wanted. With the war raging, the US Military appoints General Shepherd to lead the defenses. With this single action, he now has millions of soldiers and endless resources with him to hunt down Makarov.

So why shoot Ghost? General Shepherd wanted all the glory for himself, and it was a personal revenge.

The DSM that Ghost retreives in Modern Warfare 2 (2009) had all this intel, along with the details of Private Allen. In an attempt to prevent others from knowing about his shenanigans, which would've exposed him to the world as a mere criminal instead of a hero, he shot Ghost, thus tying up all the loose ends.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh