Anguish after his ex-con cuz is killed

Plans for a birthday get-together between two Brooklyn cousins were blown away in a street shooting.

Eion Thom, 41, was gunned down in broad daylight on a Flatbush street Thursday, leaving his surviving cousin to mourn the loss and prepare for a funeral.

A devastated Orin Hendricks recalled last speaking with his doomed relative last week, when Thom said he planned to visit soon with a gift.

“He called to wish me a happy birthday,” recalled Hendricks, 43, as he leaned against a fence outside the victim’s former East Flatbush home on Friday. “He said he was going to get me a birthday present, and I said, ‘OK.’ That was the last time I spoke with him . ... To hear today that he was killed, I can’t even put into words.”

Though Thom did three jail stints, with his latest release in October, his brother-in-law described the ex-con as a product of a broken system and unnecessary violence.

“When he got older, with drugs being put into the neighborhoods, he just got kind of caught up in that lifestyle,” said the brother-in-law. “We know he had a rough upbringing. But he’s still a human being. Human beings deserve respect.”

Hendricks considered him like a brother and offered nothing but fond memories of Thom.

“He was one of the most kindest and generous people,” said the distraught Hendricks. “He loved to be around company, to spend time with friends. .”

According to police, Thom was fatally shot in the back during an afternoon argument on Albemarle Road. He died at Kings County Hospital shortly after taking the bullet.

Thom was released from prison in 2006 after serving eight years on drug, stolen property and grand larceny convictions. A second conviction for assault involving a police officer led to a nine-year term that ended in 2017, followed by a two-year stretch for drug possession.