On Wednesday morning, hours after a man drove a pickup truck into New Year's Eve revellers in New Orleans, killing 10 people, President-elect Donald J. Trump falsely suggested on social media that his condemnations of undocumented immigrants had been validated.

"When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true," Trump said on his website, Truth Social. "The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before," he added falsely. "Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department."

Trump, who will be sworn in on January 20, added in his post: "The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!"

Some early reports about the attack said the truck was driven across the border from Mexico into the US. Officials have since identified the suspect as a US-born citizen and army veteran who lived in Texas, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar.

He drove what appeared to be a rented truck that carried an Islamic State flag, officials said. He died after exchanging gunfire with authorities.

Trump made concerns about undocumented immigrants crossing the border central to his 2024 campaign and has promised the largest mass deportation effort in the US history once he takes office.

A Trump transition spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment after the suspect's history was made public.

New York Times News Service