A dirt bike rider was shot by Philly police over the weekend as the city cracks down on ATVs and motor bikes

More than 24 hours after a Philadelphia police officer shot a man riding a dirt bike who allegedly flashed a gun at officers, leaving him critically wounded, few additional details were available — both from police and people familiar with the man.

The man, whose name, age, and background police did not provide, was last reported in critical condition Saturday after he was shot twice Saturday afternoon in the city’s Fairhill section.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Cram told reporters at the scene on Saturday that shortly before 3:30 p.m., officers assigned to a special anti-ATV detail spotted the man riding a dirt bike and followed him because they are illegal to ride in the city.

Cram said the officers confronted the man as he pulled the bike into a garage, tucked inside a fenced-in auto shop and junk car lot on the corner of Sixth and West Somerset Streets.

Cram told reporters that the man then allegedly flashed a gun, and in response, the officer shot him twice. He was rushed to Temple University Hospital in critical condition, police said.

Details about the officer who shot the man were also not available. Police did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

The man was pulling the bike into a garage at Adley Automotive Group, an auto shop that also buys junk cars. Nicholas Adley, owner of the property, said he did not know the man who was shot but had seen him at the business before. He said the man does not work there but seemed to know people who do.

“He’s a struggling guy,” he said, declining to elaborate.

Adley said surveillance cameras on the property do not work. A man who said he worked at the garage and declined to give his name said he was present during the shooting and “saw everything,” but declined to speak to reporters.

“Ask the police,” he said, before closing the garage door.

Omar Andino, a 48-year-old who has lived across the street from the auto yard for six years, said he was lying down in bed when he heard two shots. He looked out his window, he said, and saw a police officer pointing his gun, and a man lying on the ground.

Andino said he saw the officers handcuff the man, then pull him into their cruiser and speed away. His security cameras, too, have been offline for the last week and did not capture the shooting, he said. He did not recognize the man and said there have been no issues at the auto shop before.

Another resident of 20 years, who identified himself only by his first name, Angel, for privacy reasons, said he also heard the two booming shots. His Ring camera did not capture the incident, and he said he’s trying to keep to himself.

“You know what they say,” he said. “Everybody ‘round here, you get involved, you’re asking for trouble.”

The shooting comes as Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel has vowed to crack down on the use of dirt bikes and ATVs, which some consider a nuisance and safety hazard for pedestrians and drivers, while others see it as a recreation activity.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker listed enforcement against riders as a top priority when she took office, as residents have complained about the loud, persistent noise, as well as illegal activity like street racing, drifting, blocking intersections and surrounding responding officers. Philadelphia police announced in April that they would beef up enforcement as the weather warmed.

“It’s not uncommon for us to recover guns when we are doing dirt bike enforcement and this is a prime example of the dangers they pose to the city,” Cram said Saturday.

The shooting took place in an area with high rates of blight. The auto shop is catty corner to Fairhill Elementary School, which has sat vacant for more than a decade and is now covered in graffiti. On Sunday, two people experiencing homelessness slept in the doorway. Piles of trash and illegally dumped rubbish lined the street — a toilet, a grocery cart, more than a dozen bulging black trash bags, an old Jeep lined with cardboard boxes.

And now added to the collection: streams of yellow caution tape, left behind by police.

Staff writer Wendy Ruderman contributed to this article.