Ex-‘Top Model’ contestant among injured in shooting
A former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant was among the four wounded in a Sunday night shooting that left two men dead in north Harris County, a family member confirmed Monday.
Brandy Rusher, 32, was rushed to the hospital after an unidentified suspect fired off 15 to 18 shots at the Haverstock Hill apartments on Aldine Bender.
Christopher Beatty was slain in the gunfire, and a 31-year-old man — whose name was not immediately released — died at the scene, according to the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office.
The chaos erupted around 6:30 p.m. after a call about a disturbance. Witnesses later told sheriff’s deputies that three people had pulled up to the complex in a white four-door car. Two men got out and started arguing with the victims, and eventually one suspect grabbed a semiautomatic rifle from the trunk and opened fire, deputies said.
All three men hopped in the car and fled the scene in an unknown direction, leaving fear and chaos in their wake.
“People were running everywhere,” said Deputy Thomas Gilliland. A sheriff ’s office official later added that this is an ongoing investigation and authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the violence could be gang-related.
The Haverstock Hill complex has long been a source of problems in the community.
In 2010, the county filed for its first-ever gang injunction after law enforcement responded to more than 3,000 calls at the prop-
erty in a single year.
“It’s too dangerous, even, to go in and buy drugs,” sheriff ’s Lt. Jesse Incencio said at the time.
The legal move banned dozens of gang members from a 57-acre zone, including the 700unit complex. The so-called “safety zone” was later expanded to 217 acres and in 2014 a judge made the injunction permanent.
Long before the most recent outburst of violence at Haverstock Hill, Rusher nabbed her 15 minutes in the spotlight when she in 2005 competed on “Top Model.” She was ultimately booted from the contest after host Tyra Banks doled out a stern warning about her “negative attitude.”
Rusher, who now has a 5-month-old child, said at the time that she’d just been portrayed unfairly through editing.
“I don’t believe I have anger-management issues,” she told the Chronicle in 2005. “I believe my biggest problem was being defensive. When I felt someone was coming at me wrong, I would defend myself. It’s all a part of how I grew up.”
Since ending her run on the show, Rusher has lived an apparently quiet life in the Houston area. She designs and makes her own clothes and works braiding hair, said longtime friend Lessie Williams.
“If you meet Brandy and her family, they are so polite and they are so respectful, and that’s kind of hard to find nowadays,” she said.
Rusher was listed in critical condition Sunday night, but no update was available Monday. Peter Dutton, who went to Booker T. Washington High School with Rusher, described her as a “fun-loving person.
“Her smile was always infectious,” he said. “She always looked for a good time.”
The 29-year-old said it was a victory for the whole school when one of their former students made it on the show.
“It’s almost like a ‘We made it’ type thing,’” he said.
Dutton described Rusher’s family as close and said the news surprised him.
“The first thing I did was just stop and just pray for the family, because I know that they are a big and closeknit family,” he said.
Local court records show that Rusher was collared in 2010 for a resisting arrest charge, but the case was dismissed.
Representatives for VH1, which now airs the modeling show, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for former “Top Model” judge Nolé Marin offered condolences in a statement.
“Nolé’s heart goes out to Brandy and her family during this tragic time,” the statement said.
As Rusher’s friends offered well-wishing posts online, Beatty’s also took to Facebook to mourn.
“I don’t want to believe it, but you in a better place RIP,” wrote one friend.
On Monday, a GoFundMe campaign sprang up to cover funeral costs.