According to a statement from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Emmanuel Jesus Rangel was arrested and charged with murder in the deaths of Puhar, Jonathan Cosme Alvarado, 23, and Jusmar Isiah Gonzaga-Garcia, 19.
All three victims were killed around 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to police.
Based on the preliminary investigation, police believe that Puhar, Alvarado, and Gonzaga-Garcia all knew Rangel, and that the killings were drug-related.
Puhar, who competed on the 21st cycle of America's Next Top Model last year, was eliminated in the 10th episode.
According to a profile in the Charlotte Observer, Puhar was born in Serbia during the Kosovo War. Her family moved to the United States when she was 5, settling in North Carolina.
Though she decided to drop out of high school, Puhar eventually earned her GED from a local community college. She learned that she had been cast in Tyra Banks' reality show shortly after.
Authorities believe Rangel is also connected to a shooting that took place in Matthews, North Carolina, early Sunday morning. In that incident, Rosool Jaleel Harrell, 22, was killed, and one other person sustained life-threatening injuries.