Mexico City ? Nineteen Mexican soldiers were sent to a military prison Monday after troops allegedly killed two women and three children whose vehicle failed to stop at an army checkpoint, the Defense Department said.

The shooting in the Pacific state of Sinaloa is the latest case of suspected abuse by soldiers deployed by President Felipe Calderon in a national offensive against powerful drug cartels.

The family was traveling to a funeral on Friday when they were ordered to stop at the checkpoint near the village of La Joya, according to local media. When they failed to stop, soldiers reportedly opened fire on the van.

Police identified the dead as Alicia Esparza Parra, 17; Griselda Galaviz Barraza, 25, and Galaviz Barraza’s children Joniel, 7; Griselda, 4, and Juana, 2. Three other civilians in the van were wounded.

Mexico’s Defense Department said in a news release that three officers and 16 enlisted personnel were being held Monday at a prison in the city of Mazatlan pending an investigation by military and civilian authorities into the killings.

Sinaloa Gov. Jesus Aguilar on Monday lamented the shooting, but said the army will remain in the state “to safeguard the security of its citizens.”