R&B singer Mario Dewar Barrett (“Mario”) was arrested early this this morning and charged with second degree assault for allegedly shoving his mother, with whom he lives in Fells Point, according to The Baltimore Sun. The paper quotes from a statement of probable cause from Baltimore police in which Shawntia Hardaway, Mario’s mother, says her son was “throwing and damaging property” and that she “fears for her life.”

Mario grew up in several Baltimore County neighborhoods including Gwynn Oak and began working towards becoming a singer at Milford Mill High.

He signed a record deal with Clive Davis and left school at the age of fourteen. He went on to record four R&B albums that have appealed to a largely teen audience and garnered dozens of awards, including two Grammy nominations in 2006.

Mario went on to develop a career in music and entertainment, including a role in the dance movie Step Up along with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan and more recently, a stint on Dancing with the Stars in 2008. He is currently working on a fifth album, according to Spin FM.

Besides his creative and professional life, Mario is known for starting the “Do Right Foundation,” an organization that helps kids whose parents are addicted to drugs.  The foundation was inspired by his mother’s struggle with heroin, which Mario documented in a 2007 MTV documentary called “I Won’t Love You to Death.”

Hours before he was arrested, the singer tweeted a cryptic message from his official Twitter account, saying, “Sometimes I wish I could lend u my eyes so u could see urself,” without indicating who he was addressing.  His fans have been reacting about his arrest on Twitter all day, sometimes tweeting messages directly to him:

Queen_Hiba: @MarioSoulTruth Heaven lies under your mothers feet brother, no matter who or what she is.

ChryssVI: So @mariosoultruth beat up his momz huh. What’s up with these RnB singers???