The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged a 32-year-old Federal Way man for the stabbing of a Federal Way Catholic school employee.

Prosecutor’s rush-filed a charge on Sept. 21 of assault in the first degree against Tyler Joseph Lawler, 32, after a Sept. 18 stabbing incident law enforcement said involved Lawler, a former student at the school, and a teacher.

According to prosecutorial documents, on Sept. 18, Federal Way police responded to Holy Innocents School, located in the 2500 block of South 298th Street, after receiving report of a stabbing.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers learned the suspect fled the area, and two witnesses transported the victim, a teacher at the school, to St. Francis Medical Center.

The victim identified the suspect as Lawler, a former student who used to live at the school.

According to documents, Lawler approached the teacher as he was doing construction work and started to wrestle with him in an unprovoked attack. Lawler then plunged a four-and-a-half-inch steak knife into the teacher’s back. The teacher also suffered a cut to his forearm in the attack.

Lawler finished the attack, striking the teacher in the head and knocking him to the ground. The attack resulted in significant injuries, according to documents.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, the teacher advised police that Lawler had been making threats to him recently, and he believed “Lawler was trying to kill him.”

Police located Lawler at the VA Hospital in Seattle the following day, Sept. 19, and arrested him.

The court will arraign Lawler on Oct. 5 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Prosecutors argued for Lawler’s bail to be set at $100,000. Lawler remains in jail on $100,000 bail.

Lawler holds a criminal history including a 2020 conviction for assault in the third degree in King County and a 2019 conviction for arson in the second degree in Pierce County.