” It was like gang-appreciation night,” said Paul from Lincoln as he, his wife and children fled Providence within an hour of arriving for Waterfire. Families from Cranston and Lincoln reached out to DePetro.com to give first hand accounts of the terror their families experienced at the August 13, Waterfire in Providence. Debbie from Cranston said she brought her two children and her mother but left after a very short time. “We were next to gang members from Pawtucket that talked about going after gangs from Providence and it was terrifying.” Providence Police reported several people stabbed in Providence overnight but it is unknown if the trouble started at Waterfire. Gang violence caused several people to be arrested following a gang fight on the Block Island ferry Monday night. Gang problems in Providence and Pawtucket have exploded in recent years with a rash of shootings and stabbings. Mayor Elorza and LT Governor Sabina Mathos led an effort in Providence to defund the police and were successful disbanding the gang intelligence unit. Under the progressive term of Governor McKee, crime in the state has been on the rise with criminals starting to enter cities and towns outside of Providence. One of the largest problems remains the lawlessness of a sanctuary city with illegal gang members arriving in the state from south of the border.  Story is developing…