Mississippi K-9 officer dies from heat stroke after deputy's car engine shuts down, authorities say

Dex, a K-9 officer with the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, died after suffering a heat stroke. (Hinds County Sheriff's Department)

A K-9 officer in Mississippi died this week after suffering a heat stroke inside a deputy’s car, officials said.

The dog, a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois named Dex, was left inside Hinds County Deputy Lafayette Martin’s car while he ate lunch at a nearby restaurant.

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Martin left his 2016 Chevy Tahoe running so the K-9 would stay cool, but the engine shut down at some point while the deputy was in the restaurant, the sheriff’s department said, according to Mississippi News Now.

Dex — a top drug detection K-9 with the sheriff’s department — died within the hour, the news station reported.

Hinds County Sheriff’s Department Major Pete said the deputy was “devastated."

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The sheriff's department, which has sent the Tahoe to be repaired, plans to install “hot car alarms” to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.

The device sounds an alarm and automatically lowers the car’s windows if the inside of a vehicle reaches a certain temperature, Mississippi News Now reported.