Police say a retired NYPD officer shot and killed a man who was robbing a Queens bar early Monday morning.  

It happened in Whitestone just before closing time.

Police say a man in his 30s walked into the Parkside Pub on 149th Street near Willets Point Road with a gun and started taking money from the register.

Investigators say when he tried to take money from patrons one of them pulled out his own gun and shot the robber in the face and killed him.

One local resident said he approved of what the 69-year-old retiree did.

"Guy shouldn't have been robbing the store. I'm sorry but the guy shouldn't have been robbing the store. The cop shot the guy trying to rob the store. Well, unfortunately that's what it came to," he said.

Sources say the former officer retired from the force 40 years ago. 

Police have not released the names of anyone involved and no charges have been filed.

An investigation is ongoing.