A man whose brother was beaten and killed earlier this month has been charged with trying to bring a semi-automatic handgun on board a flight from Winnipeg to Toronto.

Mohammad Peyawary, 35, faces numerous firearms charges, including unlawful transport of an unsecured restricted firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. He remains in custody.

Peyawary, who was flying to Toronto from Winnipeg, tried to take a garment bag containing the gun through domestic screening as a carry-on, RCMP said, adding he was not carrying ammunition and the gun was not loaded.

The Mounties said Wednesday they got a call from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority on Monday at about 4:40 p.m.

RCMP confirmed Peyawary is the brother of Mustafa Peyawary, who was slain in Winnipeg's Fort Richmond neighbourhood on Aug. 13. Winnipeg police said the victim was viciously assaulted over an extended period of time and showed signs of massive blunt-force trauma.

The two men charged in the killing of Mustafa Peyawary are Damir Kulic, 27, of Vancouver and Ahamed Althaaf Ismail, 29, of Edmonton.

RCMP spokesperson Tara Seel said any potential motive behind the airport gun incident was not immediately clear.

"The investigation is definitely ongoing and we have brought in our experts from the [RCMP] national weapons enforcement support team," to investigate along with the RCMP's airport detachment, Seel said.