The December shooting death of a Mandan man has been ruled accidental.

An off-duty Bismarck police officer found the body of Mark Persson, 49, on Dec. 28 at the McLean Bottoms rifle range. Persson had been shooting a .50-caliber muzzleloading rifle.

Burleigh County Sheriff Steve Berg said State Medical Examiner George Mizell made the final autopsy ruling this week.

Mizell confirmed earlier that the gunshot was self-inflicted but did not know if it had been intentional or accidental.

Persson was a dentist in Bismarck for more than 20 years.

- Katie Brown