At about 1:15 p.m. Sept. 19, Federal Way police officers responded to a report of a stabbing at the Holy Innocents School, 2530 S. 298th St., a small private school with less than 40 students.

Once officers arrived, they discovered that the suspect, 32-year-old Tyler Lawler, and the victim, a male teacher in his mid-50s, were both gone. Officers located the victim and two witnesses at a local hospital where they provided detailed information pertaining to the stabbing and identified the suspect by name, according to Federal Way police.

The investigation revealed that Lawler was a former student and returned to the school where he stabbed the teacher. The motive for the attack is still under investigation. The victim suffered minor stab wounds and has since been discharged from the hospital

“Seattle PD took Lawler into custody after an alert employee at the VA Hospital in Seattle recognized him from news stories and called police,” according to FWPD’s Facebook post.