UNIONDALE, NY (CBSNewYork) - After the horrific and deadly pharmacy massacre in Medford, Long Island store owners are looking for ways to protect their employees and customers.

WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall On The Story

A small pharmacy in Uniondale has just installed a new DNA intruder tagging system.

“It uses a plant-derived, a botanical DNA mark, and it can be used to associate any criminal with any particular crime,” said James Hayward of Applied DNA Sciences.

Hayward said it is almost like when a bank is getting robbed, the teller presses a silent alarm.

In this case a button is pressed and the safe DNA is sprayed onto the thief. It is so light that the suspect never knows.

Emergency Button for Smart DNA System - Uniondale, NY - Feb 16, 2012 (credit: Sophia Hall / WCBS 880)

It costs about $2,200 to install the system.

“You can track the person who is robbing. So, it improves the security, and it’s almost invisible, ” said St. Sen. Kemp Hannon.

He says that the criminal’s clothing and even the stolen pills will be coated in the substance, making it easier to convict.