The man at the centre of a social media storm after a can of beer thrown from the stands narrowly missed Baltimore Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim at the Rogers Centre has been charged with mischief.

Accompanied by two lawyers, Postmedia journalist Ken Pagan surrendered at Toronto police’s 52 Division around 7:15 p.m. Thursday and was charged with one count of mischief.

Pagan did not speak to media, but his lawyers expressed concerns about the “trial by social media” their client was facing.

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Lawyer Tyler Smith said his 41-year-old client, who will appear in court next month, is “fine.”

Pagan’s image was widely circulated on social media after police released an image of a man Wednesday they said was wanted in connection with the beer-throwing incident that outraged baseball fans across North America.

Screen caps of Ken Pagan, and others seated in his section in the outfield area, were circulated online with much speculation. (Frank Gunn)

But, while police have their suspect, the Internet is not so sure, and internet sleuths kicked in with videos shared on Reddit and YouTube.

Starting from a wide-angle shot showing section 139 of the Rogers Centre, one video shows a silver streak crossing the frame. While it’s impossible to identify any faces in the video, Pagan is clearly identifiable when the grainy images are cross-referenced with photos shot by Canadian Press photographer Frank Gunn.

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“Fairly clear video of him throwing it backhanded like a Frisbee,” wrote Twitter user Melanie Harrington.

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Case closed?

Not quite.

Other photos of Pagan show him holding a plastic cup, not a can of beer.

Then more video surfaced, in which some people claim to see a woman hurling the brew before disappearing from the scene.

Both videos are so grainy, it’s almost impossible to deduce what is taking place exactly.

Missing person? Photo shows a hole in the crowd just behind and to Pagan’s left, which some argued was the real thrower’s location. (Frank Gunn)

Other photos show a hole in the crowd just behind and to Pagan’s left, which some argued was the real thrower’s location. They suggest the villain ducked out of sight as soon as the sudsy shot was fired.

Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said Toronto police would not comment on the conflicting theories.

“However, we are confident we have made a positive ID and we will continue to work with the Rogers Centre to further the investigation‎,” Sidhu wrote in an email to the Star.

Toronto Det. Pat Alberga told The Associated Press that security camera footage inside the stadium helped identify the suspect.

“We have video footage that shows it,” Alberga said.

The can tossed from the outfield stands in the seventh inning of the American League wild-card game landed close to the Orioles’ Kim as he tracked down a fly ball. Long after the game was won by the Jays in extra innings — they are off to Texas to start a playoff series against the Rangers — more mannered baseball fans were expressing outrage and amateur sleuths were dissecting photos and video of the crowd.

On social media, the incident drew comments from hundreds of people, including author Stephen King.

“Hey, whatever happened to polite Canadians?” mused the horror writer.

Toronto Mayor John Tory was clearly upset, calling the culprit a “loon-ball” and imploring fans seated nearby to turn the culprit in.

A beer can lands near Baltimore Orioles leftfielder Hyun Soo Kim as he gets set to catch a fly ball during the seventh inning of the wild-card game against the Toronto Blue Jays. (Frank Gunn)

Kim’s teammate, centre fielder Adam Jones, who said he heard racial slurs after the can was thrown, called the beer-toss incident “pathetic,” and noted Kim could have been badly injured.

Blue Jays spokesperson Erik Grossman said ejecting the alleged booze-pitcher from the game wasn’t an option; he’d already vanished by the time police arrived to investigate.

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In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the team said it would be tightening its alcohol policies, and the culprit would be barred from the Rogers Centre in future.

It’s not the first time that rowdy behaviour from some Jays fans has caused a stir.

Blue Jays fans tossed bottles and debris on the field during Game 5 of last year’s American League Division Series against the Rangers. A hurled beer narrowly missed a baby.

Following that episode, a decision was made to serve beer in plastic cups in the upper tier of the stadium for certain games.

A Blue Jays fan also threw a drink at Orioles outfielder Nate McLouth during a game at Rogers Centre in May 2013.

With files from Jackie Hong, Megan Dolski and Star wire services