STOUGHTON — University of Massachusetts Boston chancellor J. Keith Motley said adults were at his home early Sunday morning when a 20-year-old man was stabbed at a party there.

During a press conference Monday afternoon in front of his home, Motley, who was vacationing with his wife at the time of the incident, said he would never leave his children unattended and that “extended family’’ was present the night of the stabbing. which occurred outside the house.

“They had their friends here, but they also had lots of other folks here — family,’’ said Motley, who has two daughters, ages 17 and 20, as well as an older son. “They were watching the [Patriots] game and doing what young people do.’’

Stoughton police said they received a 911 call at 2:48 a.m. Sunday reporting a stabbing at the chancellor’s home on Palisades Circle.

Firefighters who responded to the scene found the victim, identified by Motley as Fabrice Emile, a family friend, inside a car parked on Plain Street, after the car’s driver flagged them down. Emile was transported to Boston Medical Center.

Joseph Emile, the victim’s father, told the Globe in a telephone interview that his son is in stable condition. “He is doing OK for now,’’ he said. “He is doing well.’’

He said he could not discuss the incident further.

Motley said he saw Emile and his parents in the morning, before the press conference, and was “so happy’’ that the victim was recovering and in “good spirits.’’ He described Emile as his “mentee’’ and a “great youngster.’’

A suspect has not been identified. A woman who answered the phone at the Stoughton Police Department declined to comment.

Motley had arrived in Jamaica Saturday and was there barely a day when he got news of the stabbing. He returned as soon as possible, he said, arriving back home early Monday morning.

The chancellor said he would not release details about the stabbing because of the ongoing investigation.

“I wasn’t here and so we are getting to the bottom of it,’’ he said. “Somebody is going to be found out. That someone was out here lurking and couldn’t come in to whatever these children were trying to do, because there were adults there.’’

Motley was accompanied during the press conference by attorney Joseph Feaster, who said he was with the chancellor as a family friend and neighbor.

When asked if the party involved underage drinking, Motley declined to comment and said that’s something that “needs to be investigated.’’

Motley said his children are “very responsible’’ and that his biggest concern was their emotional stability in the wake of a traumatic event.

“Someone whom they love was injured outside my home,’’ he said.

Becoming emotional toward the end of the press conference, Motley stressed the importance of being a father first, and a chancellor second, in emergency situations like the one that pulled him away suddenly from the trip with his wife.

“ ‘Chancellor’ is a title,’’ he said, his voice wavering slightly. “ ‘Dad’ is an honor.’’

Laura Krantz of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear. Nicole Fleming can be reached at nicole.fleming@globe.com.